State Works to Ban Synthetic Marijuana

It’s a synthetic marijuana that goes by many different names K2, Spice and even potpourri.

Other than the name there’s not much known about this substance other than if smoked it can cause an elevated heart rate, hallucinations, tremors and even seizures.

"The scary part about it is that people think that since it is legal, that it’s not harmful, but it really is and we don’t know what the long term effects are and there are millions of chemicals in it we know nothing about," said Prevention Director at Muskingum County Behavioral Health Kris Headley.

The substance is already banned in 40 states and the Ohio Drug Enforcement Administration is working on getting it taken off store shelves in Ohio as well.

"I think parents of younger children should be aware it’s out there," said Headley. "If you see anything unusual in there rooms or backpacks anything like that you should investigate because these are in places where kids go and even adults."

Synthetic marijuana was developed at Clemson University in a lab and was being used to study it’s effects for therapeutic purposes.