GROUP: RESCIND LOCAL K-2 LAWS

ADH Working On Statewide Regulations

JONESBORO - Throughout Northeast Arkansas, cities and counties have
passed ordinances in recent months banning the sale of synthetic
marijuana and making its use illegal.

Now the Arkansas Municipal League wants those laws rescinded,
according to The Associated Press. Earlier this month the Arkansas
Department of Health passed temporary regulations banning the
substances and is working on permanent regulations, AML attorney Mark
Hayes said.

In Northeast Arkansas five governmental entities - Sharp, Lawrence and
Greene counties, Walnut Ridge and Pocahontas - all passed bans on the
substances marketed under the names K-2, K-2 Spice, Spice, Summit or
Genie.

Officials in Sharp and Lawrence counties and Pocahontas said they were
aware of ADH's temporary regulations, but requests to rescind the
ordinances from AML hadn't been received.

"I haven't received anything from the Municipal League," Pocahontas
Mayor Gary Crocker said.

Lawrence County Judge Alex Latham and Sharp County Judge Larry Brown
said neither of their offices have been contacted.

Messages to the Walnut Ridge City Hall and Greene County Judge Jesse
Dollars were not returned.

ADH officials passed a temporary 120-day ban on synthetic marijuana
July 2. A regulation is being formulated, according to an ADH press
release.

"This new law is not intended to place people into the criminal
justice system," ADH Director Paul Halverson said. "This regulation is
intended to educate the public about the dangers of this drug and
illicit use, especially by minors. Enforcement responsibilities will
fall primarily to local law enforcement and prosecutors."

All NEA governmental entities which passed K-2 bans had a provision
within the ordinance that said any state statutes passed by the
Arkansas Legislature would supersede local ordinances. But it's not
clear if those ordinances can be superseded by ADH
regulations.

"That's something the city attorney would have to look into," Crocker
said.

Brown and Latham also said attorneys would have to examine the
regulations before any local ordinances were repealed.

The products that have been banned are legal substances often sold at
tobacco shops and convenience stores, authorities said. The products
are herbs laced with cannabinoid substances that are sold as incense.

K-2 can be bought by anyone of any age. Over the last year consumers
have been buying the product and then smoking its contents in cigarettes.

Law enforcement officials across the region have noticed a substantial
increase in synthetic marijuana usage in recent months. What concerns
police is that the products give users the same effects of smoking
marijuana, but there is no way to test for it if a user is arrested.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel hasn't given an opinion if cities and
counties can ban the sale and use of the products.

"In order to avoid encroaching upon judicial prerogatives, it has long
been the policy of this executive branch office to avoid rendering
opinions on matters that are likely to be the subject of pending
litigation," McDaniel said previously.