Louisiana bans components for synthetic marijuana due to health scare

Louisiana has banned the sale and use of eight compounds marketed as synthetic marijuana to stem an increase in the use of the drugs that have sent scores of people to hospitals with dangerous reactions to toxins, officials said on Thursday. In recent weeks, more than 100 people have been treated in emergency rooms in the state after using synthetic marijuana, including many suffering life-threatening maladies, they said. “This emergency rule immediately empowers law enforcement officials to remove these dangerous substances from commerce,” said Kathy Kliebert, the chief of the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals. The drugs, also known as synthetic cannabinoids, first began appearing in the United States in 2009, the American Association of Poison Control Centers said.

Deadly pig virus numbers rise in U.S. hog herd

(Reuters) – Confirmed cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus increased by 296 in the week ended March 15, bringing the total number to 4,757, according to data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). The U.S. and Canadian hog industries have recently developed partnerships to research what role, if any, feed or feed ingredients have had in the transmission of PEDv, the National Pork Board said earlier this week. While one case can represent an individual animal or an entire herd at a single site, hog industry analysts estimate PEDv has killed an estimated 5 million U.S. hogs since it was discovered in May 2013. “Unfortunately it has spread rapidly this winter, especially here in Ohio,” said Duane Stateler, Ohio Pork Council president and hog producer with a 7,200 head operation.

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