County Leaders Urge Local Businesses To Stop Selling K2

OAKLAND COUNTY (WWJ) - Leaders in Oakland County are urging business owners in the county to pledge not to sell K2, Spice, or other synthetic marijuana products.

Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Executive Brooks Patterson and Sheriff Mike Bouchard said retailers who notify the county that they will not sell the synthetic drugs will get a window decal that tells shoppers it is a place to shop safe. Patterson said the time to act is now.

"Instances of K2 leading to violence and in some cases death have captured headlines both locally and nationally," Patterson said. "Oakland County is going to make it easy for shoppers to identify the stores that don't sell these dangerous synthetic drugs."

"These substances are clearly dangerous and occasionally deadly," Bouchard said. "Until we can get a law banning them, the best weapon to fight this is for consumers to refuse to frequent places that sell this trash."

Friends say Tucker Cipriano who is accused of murdering his father and beating his mother and brother in Farmington Hills used K2 before the attack.

County officials say synthetic marijuana is sold as incense or potpourri. The material is a mixture of herbs and spices, sprayed with a synthetic similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Ingredients can vary widely as can the potency. The street names for it are Spice Gold; Spice Silver; Spice Diamond; Fire & Ice; Yucatan Fire; Genie; Pep Spice; and Blue Lotus; among others.

To get a window decals, retailers can call the Oakland County Health Division at 800-848-5533.