As expected, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is extending its unconstitutional market ban on five chemicals previously used to make herbal incense products for six more months. The initial ban, which is expiring soon, was initially supposed to be a year long. The agency filed a notice in the Federal Register that will mean the substances will remain illegal for the time being.

The five banned chemicals, cannabicyclohexanol, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, and CP-47, 497, have been classified by the DEA as Schedule 1 substances, which is the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. It is reserved for drugs with a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical purpose in the United States, and the absence of accepted safety measures for its use under medical supervision.

Poison control centers reported approximately 13,000 calls concerning problems with synthetic drugs in 2011, according to CNN. This is compared to over 250,000 calls concerning FDA-approved Pain killers in 2010.