Lawmakers target synthetic marijuana

LANSING, Mich., June 5 (UPI) -- State lawmakers in Michigan moved to stop the sale of synthetic marijuana in the state, officials said.

The House and Senate agreed in principle on three bills that would enable the state Board of Pharmacy to stop the sale of the synthetic marijuana, sometimes referred to as K2 or Spice, The Detroit News reported.

Meanwhile, Macomb County approved "imminent danger orders" to immediately stop the sale of the synthetic marijuana.

And in Oakland County, the West Bloomfield Township Board passed an emergency ordinance banning synthetic marijuana as well as synthetic stimulants that resemble bath salts

Clerk Catherine Shaughnessy, who introduced the West Bloomfield measure, said officials had become aware of violent crimes in the Detroit area involving teens and young adults said to have used K2 and Spice, the Detroit Free Press said.

Current law in Michigan bans some chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana but experts say manufactures have gotten around the law by changing the formula.

State Rep. Ed McBroom, a Republican, said he expects the state measures to receive approval in both chambers and go to Gov. Rick Snyder within 10 days.

"It's on the fast track now," McBroom said.

The bills would allow state Director of Community Health Olga Dazzo to ask the state Board of Pharmacy to declare a product a controlled substance that can't be sold over the counter, and reduce the time to classify a substance as such from six months or longer to 10 to 30 days.

The product could be classified a controlled substance for up to a year, which would give the Legislature time to enact a permanent ban, McBroom said.