Missouri's Pettis County Bans K2 Synthetic Marijuana

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​Let the fake reefer madness continue: Pettis County -- located about 75 miles southwest of Columbia -- became the first municipality in America to ban the synthetic marijuana product K2 yesterday.

The AP picked up the story this morning from the Sedalia Democrat:

Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Mittelhauser proposed the county ordinance after hearing reports of K2 being sold in Sedalia and in the county.

"I've heard of this for a few months now," Mittelhauser said.

On Feb. 16, Mittelhauser was informed that two locations were selling K2 as incense.

"Its effects are not completely known," Mittelhauser said.

Mittelhauser said he has heard reports of people who have used K2 and ended up in an emergency room unconscious.

"We're hoping to get out in front of this," Mittelhauser said.

Pettis' law takes effect immediately, making it a misdemeanor to "sell or publicly display K2 for sale." Violators face up to 30 days in jail and a fine up to $500. Second offenses are punishable by a maximum 90 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Elsewhere in the war of fake drugs, Kansas is in the final stages of approving its K2 ban while Missouri's law was sent back to committee for a second reading.

The Missourian has the dope on the state's faux-dope law:

The effort in the Missouri General Assembly to make Missouri the first state to ban synthetic marijuana hit a slight roadblock on Monday in the Missouri House of Representatives, but the bill's sponsor said he still expects the drug known as K2 to be outlawed.

The House Rules Committee was expected to vote on the legislation sponsored by Rep. Ward Franz, R-West Plains. Its language is similar to that of a bill introduced by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, and discussed in committee last week. However, Franz said the House committee had mistakenly classified some of the other drugs included in the bill and it would need to be edited in the next week.

It should be noted that Pettis County did not ban K2 (aka Spice, Genie and Mojo) but the active ingredients in the "incense" product. The same would be true of the proposed laws in Missouri and Kansas.

Those chemicals are:

• 2-[(1R, 3S)-3-hydroxycyclohexyl]-5-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)phenol)
• (dexanabinol,(6aS,10aS)-9-(hydroxymethyl)-6,6-dimethyl-3-(2-methyloctan-2-yl)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol)
  
• 1-Pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole
• Butyl-3-(1-naphthyol)indole

For an update on the K2 goings on in Kansas, check out the recent feature story from our colleagues at The Pitch in Kansas City. They include in their article an explanation from a scientist and U.S. Patent Attorney as to why banning these chemicals is a short-sighted, reactionary idea. Read it by clicking here.