Macomb County Committee Passes Resolutions Against K2

The Macomb County Board of Commissioners’ Justice and Public Safety Committee passed resolutions Tuesday against K2, also known as Spice.

The resolutions—in support of a state Senate bill banning the designer drug and encouraging residents to oppose K2—will go before the full board Thursday night in Mount Clemens for approval, according to the county.

“These substances have shown to be a hazard to public health and safety, and it is clear that they need to be regulated in our community and beyond,” Commissioner Phil DiMaria, who chairs the Justice and Public Safety Committee, said in a prepared statement.

. The county also launched a public program called K2 Kops that encourages citizens to report establishments that sell Spice.

The county committee showed support for Michigan legislation aimed at curbing the synthetic drug's distribution.

“I wholeheartedly support Senate Bill 1082. While currently legal and being marketed as seemingly harmless, substances such as K2/Spice are anything but safe, and should be treated as such,” Justice and Public Safety Committee co-chair Joe Sabatini added.

Among the resolution points:

• Synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones are reported to be widely available for sale in Macomb County.
• The emergency department at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and other local emergency departments report seeing significant and increasing numbers of persons suffering serious health effects from use of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones.
• The regional Poison Control Center reports a doubling in the rate of cases of Macomb County residents poisoned by synthetic cannabinoids from 2011 to 2012.
• There is imminent danger to the health or lives of Macomb County residents from the unregulated use of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones.

The committee resolutions took place shortly after Chesterfield Township Board of Trustees during its Monday night meeting.

The Board of Commissioners meeting is held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Administration Building, 1 S. Main, Mount Clemens.