LANSING — Last week Governor Rick Snyder officially signed a package of bills banning the sale of synthetic Marijuana, which will go into effect beginning on July 1. The decision comes after months of controversy generated from the substances branded with names such as K2 and Spice, which have caused alarming side effects such as bizarre behavior, hospitalizations and deaths involving both teens and adults. 

Gov. Rick Snyder featured with AFPD president Auday Arabo as the bill banning K2 is signed into law

The package consists of four different bills, focusing on banning the substances from convenience stores as well as penalties towards businesses who are caught selling the products and individuals caught in possession of it. One of the bills also allows for the Michigan Department of Community Health to call for the ban of any future substances that would be considered a threat to public health after consulting with the Michigan Board of Pharmacy.

Under these new laws, anyone caught manufacturing, distributing, or selling the substances can be charged with a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Possession of these substances can get an individual a maximum two year sentence. Anyone convicted of using synthetic marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor and receive up to a year in jail. 

The substances were commonly sold at gas stations, tobacco stores and party stores for as cheap as $5.00 a packet. The ingredients inside the substance include chemical spray meant to mimic THC, the main ingredient in marijuana.  The Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers (AFPD), an association that represents over 4,000 stores in the states of Michigan and Ohio spearheaded a campaign to help remove the products off the shelf.

Auday Arabo, president and CEO of the AFPD says that it was only a select few stores that were selling them after conducting compliance checks. Those stores that did carry the products quickly complied with their requests. 

“We beg and plead anyone out there to ask any kind of store, gas station or smoke shop to understand what they are selling before they do it, because what this has done to our industry is give us a big black eye. And people assume everyone was doing it, but it’s not the case. It was just a few businesses,” stated Arabo. 

He says however there are a few non affiliated AFPD stores that have not complied to take them off the shelves before July. Instead these stores could be trying to make a quick profit off the substances before they become illegal, because they don‘t want to waste their inventory.

“A lot of these stores are more concerned about their inventory levels than they are about people’s health. Some stores are still carrying them and giving out promotions like buy one get one free just so they can make a quick profit before July,” Arabo added.

 According to Arabo they didn’t have the same issues with the substances in the state of Ohio because they already banned the products over two years ago. He says tracking down the makers and distributors of synthetic marijuana is tougher than it seems because it was being distributed everywhere by independent wholesalers. He warns business owners that in the future if new similar products come along, they need to be more cautious on whether or not they should carry the products.

“If a big supplier isn’t selling it to you, then point blank, you should not be buying it,” Arabo stated. 

The bills passed not only call for the banning of synthetic marijuana, but it also calls for the  banning of similar substances such as bath salts and herbs which also have been used as a marijuana substitute. All of these substances combined have been linked to a string of recent bizarre tragedies which have taken place locally and nationally. 

Last month in Florida, a man bit the face off of a homeless man while he was under the influence of bath salts. Earlier this month, a Texas man who had gotten high off of smoking K2 ended up eating the face off his family’s dog. 

In Michigan, strange occurrences have also occurred.  In May, a grandmother from Bloomfield Township shot and killed her 17-year-old grandson because she feared that his excessive synthetic marijuana usage was a threat to her safety. One month prior in Farmington Hills, a  19-year-old male brutally murdered his father with a baseball bat and severely injured other family members because he wanted money to buy more synthetic marijuana. 

While many are relieved at the state’s official ban on the products, the majority of the country has already jumped on the ship. 40 other states have already banned the drugs. Even within Michigan, counties have already beat the state to the punch as well and passed their own laws. In Macomb County for example, possession of synthetic marijuana is just as severe as the possession of regular marijuana, with penalties being as much as up to six months in jail.