Problems with synthetic marijuana, known as K2 or Spice, have been popping up seemingly everywhere and after one scary incident on Memorial Day, Fenton Police are hoping the substance won’t end up in Fenton.

Fenton Police Chief Rick Aro sent out a letter to area businesses recently asking for cooperation in preventing the sale of synthetic marijuana.

The notice came after an incident on Memorial Day where Aro said a 14-year-old Fenton boy met some strangers at Bush Park who offered him a sample of what they said was Spice. Aro said the boy called his mother and told her he was disorientated and when he came home he became agitated and had stomach cramps. Aro said his parents told police he woke up the next day and was still agitated leading to a verbal and then physical dispute between the boy and his parents. Aro said the boy was taken to Hurley Hospital.

Aro said he did not know of any Fenton area businesses selling the substance.

“If anyone is selling it, we’d like to know and try to talk them into not selling it,” Aro said. “This is a good community and I think people would understand why we wouldn’t want them to do it.”

Fenton Police and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department made two drug busts at two Fenton gas stations last July during which K2 was seized. The owners had said they didn’t know it was illegal at the time. However, the chemical compounds in the substance have since changed, allowing it back on the shelves.

Aro's letter included a description of the substance, dried shredded plant materials sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to the psychoactive ingredients in marijuana and a notice that the ingredients are not listed on the packages, but can cause side effects include rapid heart rate, vomiting, agitation, seizures paranoia and hallucinations, according to the Michigan Department of Public Health.

It also included a Detroit Free Press article that included the dangers of the drug.

The letter also stated, “We are asking for your pledge not to sell this product in your store and urge your fellow business owners to do the same. I believe changes in the law are imminent, however until this happens please join our department in protecting our community and our youth from this dangerous drug.”

The Fenton Township drug prevention group Community Parent Inc. is planning to talk about the substance in a meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Fenton Township Hall, said president Tony Brown.

"We want to cast out a blanket and talk to anyone who wants to help keep it out of our community," Community Parent member Bob Krug said.

"There is so much pressure on illegal drugs, they've spent a lot of time figuring how to get around the law."

Spice across the state

The sale of K2—a synthetic drug also known as Spice—has drawn much attention throughout the state of Michigan in recent weeks.

Many parents have expressed concern about Spice in the wake of several incidents. Most notably, Tucker Cipriano, 19, of Farmington Hills is believed to have been high on synthetic marijuana in April when he attacked his family, killing his father and severely injuring his mother and brother.

West Bloomfield Township will consider banning K2 at a board meeting next week. Livingston County Sheriff Bob Bezotte has warned the Hartland Township board about the dangers of the drug. And 52-4 District Court Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig spoke out against Spice in an editorial on Troy Patch.