Sen. Charles Schumer said on Sunday that he has urged the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to stop online sales of synthetic marijuana by hindering credit card companies from permitting transactions.

Schumer said that a number of websites selling the drug are based in China due to which, it is hard to limit sales. He added the solution is that credit card companies should be banned from permitting the sale of the drug, also called K2 or Spice.

During a news conference at his Manhattan office, Schumer said, "These drugs are more dangerous and can have worse side effects than marijuana -- and they're becoming even more popular than marijuana because they are so available. An all-too-high percentage of these illegal drugs are available on the Internet".

He added that they are available to bodegas that are willing to sell them directly to people. They're accessible to street gangs. An individual can just go online and purchase them. Besides this, drug rings that buy the precursor chemicals and then transform them into drugs for selling them on the streets, also have access to them.

Furthermore, Schumer said that the DEA must also publish any new information regarding new brands of synthetic marijuana available online.

While talking to a website purporting to sell synthetic marijuana to anyone, who wants to pay with a Visa credit card or an e-check, Schumer said that the DEA should order credit card companies to block the sale before the shipping of the drugs.

Schumer mentioned that by cutting off credit card access to the Chinese companies, selling illegal drugs, they will choke these websites. He said that they will deprive them of oxygen, and the websites will have to shut down ultimately. He added that the DEA has the authority to do it, but they lack in resources.