Synthetic marijuana

Legislation under consideration would add more synthetic drugs to the list of outlawed substances in Missouri.

Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill Tuesday criminalizing K2, a synthetic compound that mimics a marijuana-like high when smoked or inhaled. The law goes into effect Aug. 28.

The Missouri bill to ban synthetic marijuana was approved by state lawmakers. The legislation's last step is getting Gov. Jay Nixon's signature. It was sent to him Thursday.

The effects from meth are worse than those from K2.

Senators didn't disagree about the ban of K2, but rather the charges that offenders would receive.

The Senate made possession of 35 grams and more of K2 a felony. The revised bill now needs House approval.

Missouri small business owners asked lawmakers Tuesday not to ban K2, which is called fake pot or synthetic marijuana, as a bill being heard in the House would.

St. Charles city and county have also banned the product marketed under names such as "K2," ''Spice" and "Summit."

The bill would outlaw a marijuana-like compound. Lawmakers and police say they've seen an increase in the compound.

While discussing  a bill to ban synthetic marijuana known as K2, the House denied the proposition to legalize medical marijuana. 

Labeling K2 as a Schedule I drug without significant research about what it is or what it does is wrong.

Here's what others are saying about K2 in Missouri and other states.

Although the exact effects of K2 are unknown, a bill in the Missouri General Assembly would make any possession of the substance a Class C felony.

Missouri has a high number cases involving negative effects of the drug.

A Saint Louis University professor said that symptoms suggest K2 affects users' cardiovascular systems.

Pettis County has banned a substance that is combined with a mix of dried flowers, herbs and tobacco to mimic the effects of marijuana.

The process to make K2 illegal has been slowed because of mistakes in the classification of other drugs included in the bill.

Public officials want to outlaw the production and sale of K2, a substance that mimics the effects of marijuana.  

A lot of claims have been made so far about K2, but few have been substantiated.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer's concern about the effects of K2, the synthetic drug similar to marijuana, prompted him to introduce a bill making the substance illegal. However, others are not certain that the substance's effects are harmful.