Dearborn, State Concurrently Pass K2 Ban

Just hours after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a bundle of bills aiming to ban synthetic marijuana production and sale in the state, Dearborn City Council approved a similar ordinance banning the product in the city.

The local ordinance change was put into motion this month in an effort to align city law with the expected change in state law.

"It's more to show the public that Dearborn cares," Council President Tom Tafelski said of the ordinance. "We're just trying to be proactive."

According to MLive, Gov. Snyder said he was confident that the bills would help combat sale and consumption of the drug.

"This is overdue," Snyder said. "This is one of those 'war-on-drug' kind of questions that's going to be a challenge going ahead, but I think we have better tools and weapons now."

updates a list of banned chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana, and will go into effect July 1.

Another bill tied to the package goes into effect immediately, and allows legislators to quickly but temporarily ban a substance that is found to be dangerous to public health. That part of the law is the state's answer to manufacturers' efforts to get around the law by altering the chemical makeup of the drugs.

The Dearborn ordinance essentially mirrors the new state law.

Some, however, feel that the ban on the product isn't enough.

Dearborn resident Steve Arnold–who became a strong opponent of Spice and K2 –said that the community needs to request that retailers stop selling paraphernalia, too. This includes cigarette papers, pipes and other products that could potentially be used for illegal purposes.

"I'm not asking for a legal ban," he said. "Just a voluntary ban by retailers."

Additionally, Arnold said he was "disappointed that the (K2 ban) bill is not effective immediately."

At a Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education meeting earlier this month, Arnold requested that the community of Dearborn parents and educators develop a town hall to educate parents, teachers and youth about K2, Spice, bath salts and related drug use issues.