Lawmakers Move to Ban K2 from Lansing

K2 was supposed to be the safe and legal alternative to marijuana. However, some users have found that it's anything but safe after experiencing rapid heart rate, extreme body temperatures, and seizures. Lansing lawmakers have taken notice and are making moves to ban K2 from Michigan.

K2 or synthetic marijuana is made out of plant materials sprayed with chemicals that mimic THC, the ingredient in marijuana. K2 comes in different flavors and can cause a host of side effects including the ones mentioned above in addition to vomiting, agitation, paranoia, loss of control and hallucinations. According to Clinton County Sheriff Sharon Worthington, there are dozens of stories from parents whose children haved used K2 and ended up in the hospital as a result. As a D.A.R.E. program officer, Worthington is eager to see K2 banned from the state.

Lawmakers originally thought of banning K2 in Lansing, but Mayor Virg Bernero says that he would rather see a statewide ban. The bill to eliminate K2 from Lansing was already approved by the House and now moves to the Senate. Banning K2 only in Lansing means that users could simply go to nearby towns and obtain it, which worries many lawmakers and politicians. Other communities aren't waiting for a statewide ban and are moving to eliminate it from their local area. For example, police in Fowlerville have already seized K2 from a BP and Macomb County officials signed an emergency order preventing individuals from selling synthetic marijuana. Bans against K2 gained new urgency after the deaths of an 18-year-old who overdosed on K2, a 17-year-old who was shot to death by his grandmother, and an attack against a family perpetrated by two teenagers high on K2.