Although a bill to make the product illegal was introduced to the Michigan Legislature in April by Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, these new reports make it all the more likely the bill will make significant headway when it comes under discussion in the fall. Legislators will have plenty of chances to read the stories in the press about how K2’s synthetic compounds are destroying the fabric of society.

This is a quote in the article from Lake Orion Police Chief Jerry Narsh: “In my opinion, it’s a toxic and dangerous product. It is another vicious turn in the path of our kids who are already faced with enough challenges.”

As far as I can tell, Mr. Narsh bases his opinion on marijuana public service announcements from the ‘50s and little else. For example, is there any actual proof K2 is bad for your health? I can say from personal dealings with K2 users, the effects really aren’t significant.

During the fall 2009 semester, I wrote a State News article about K2. John Huffman, an organic chemistry research professor at Clemson University, said at the time the problem was that there is no significant research on the long-term effects of K2’s active compound, JWH-018.

Coincidentally, the compound was synthesized by an undergraduate research student working for Huffman and named it JWH in his honor.

I don’t feel the lack of credible research immediately makes it OK for a drug to remain legal. If there is a drug that makes a user’s head explode when he or she smokes it, by all means do something about it. K2 is unregulated, true. The point of regulation is to make sure products are safe for consumer use, true. It does not follow that because something is unregulated it is dangerous.

What it does mean is that there is a potential unknown hazard to the health of the person who uses the substance. I don’t feel that is a sufficient reason to ban it. If something is untested and that raises concerns, don’t use it. If not, enjoy.

There are a number of reasons K2 needs no legislation to control its use. It isn’t a pandemic. The emergency rooms of the nation are not filled with people who all test positive for JWH-018. That would be a pretty strong correlation.

For an example of what is not considered correlation, read this statement from the same Free Press article: “Doctors weren’t sure whether the patient admitted to Brighton Hospital’s substance abuse treatment center Friday was schizophrenic or suffering the effects of smoking an herb laced with a synthetic compound.”

In other words, it could have been PCP, crack cocaine or drinking milk after the expiration date. No correlation there. Or anywhere, for that matter. After getting to the end of the article, I could ascertain one thing: The unknown is scary. A substance that alters perception can be scary. Knee-jerk reactions to what you put in your body are also scary — especially when legislation becomes the answer.

If it comes out that K2 is dangerous, I still wouldn’t condone banning it. I am, after all, for the legalization of drugs. I would no longer suggest anyone use it — like cigarettes — but that’s about it.

It takes research — which the Drug Enforcement Administration said it has begun — and not just the word of Rep. Jones, who said he started looking into K2 and found out it was “pretty dangerous.”
Really, Mr. Jones? If all we’re doing is taking opinions and making them law, I’m going with organic chemistry research professor Huffman:

“There are currently no toxicity reports for the compound. Except for a few papers that are not real convincing indicating it is potentially carcinogenic, no one has really done any research.”

That will do.

David Barker is the State News opinion editor. Reach him at barkerd@msu.edu.