You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 5:59 a.m.

Negative buzz surrounding synthetic marijuana scares store owners from legal product

By Pete Cunningham

Related story: Washtenaw County officials ask businesses to immediately stop selling K2, other synthetic designer drugs

At Summit Party Store on North Main Street in Ann Arbor, liquor, beer and cigarettes are readily available to any customer with proper ID.

What you won’t find on the shelves, however, is a legal product that, unlike the aforementioned products, doesn’t even require a license to sell: synthetic marijuana.

“Why give yourself a headache when you don’t need one? Killing someone is going to give you a headache,” said an employee at Summit. He said the owners of the store have told him that Summit has never sold the product and never will. “Selling K2 isn’t going to get you rich, so why bother? It isn’t worth it.”

060512_NEWS_K2_MRM_03.JPG

Synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, Spice, incense and potpourri, for sale at Bongz and Thongz on East Liberty Street on Tuesday. The product sells for about $10 to $20.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

The employee declined to use his name, as did many other shop owners and employees at shops in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, whether they sell the product or not.

As the negative reports surrounding synthetic marijuana — commonly referred to as incense, herbal, potpourri or by its most popular brand names K2 and Spice — continue to mount and Washtenaw County officials ask stores to stop selling it, no one seems to want to be attached to the product.

Many shops who used to carry the product no longer want to be attached to its sale, including Kampus Korner in Ypsilanti.

“I don’t know if we can get it back with all of the negative publicity,” said an employee, who declined to give his name.

Some shops simply don’t want the clientele the product attracts. Patti King, manager of 42 Degrees, a smoke shop on East William Street in downtown Ann Arbor, described the people who normally come in asking for synthetic marijuana as “cracked out.”

Not carrying the product has been good for customer relations, said a manager at a Sunoco Station in Ypsilanti.

“Lately I’ve been having very happy customers that we don’t sell it. . . . They come here once in a while talking about it because it’s on the news. They’re very happy to see that we don’t carry that stuff,” the manager said.

Bongz & Thongz in downtown Ann Arbor and Ethnospot are two known downtown Ann Arbor stores that continue to sell synthetic marijuana. Multiple attempts to reach store owners and/or managers were unsuccessful.

Negative stigma or not, other places still carry it as well.

“We’ve been selling (synthetic marijuana) for like three or four months,” said Kamao Singh, an employee at a Citco gas station in Ypsilanti. “We haven't seen that many people come in for it.

"In a week you’ll get about one or two people that come in who are interested in it.”

-- Katrease Stafford contributed to this report.

Contact Pete Cunningham at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Comments

jcj

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 11:46 a.m.

I am in favor of the coverage of k-2. I have two teenage grandchildren and anything that will make it harder for them to get ANY drug is welcome. But a few facts from A2 .com would not hurt! http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/synthetic-drugs-k2-spice-bath-salts Synthetic marijuana (often known as "K2" or "Spice") and bath salts products are often sold in legal retail outlets as "herbal incense" and "plant food," respectively, and labeled "not for human consumption" to mask their intended purpose and avoid FDA regulatory oversight of the manufacturing process. Synthetic marijuana consists of plant material that has been laced with substances (synthetic cannabinoids) that users claim mimics ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol(THC), the primary psychoactive active ingredient in marijuana, and are marketed toward young people as a "legal" high. Use of synthetic marijuana is alarmingly high. According to data from the 2011 Monitoring the Future survey of youth drug-use trends, 11.4 percent of 12th graders used Spice or K2 in the past year, making it the second most commonly used illicit drug among seniors.

Jon Wax

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 11:46 a.m.

it's not marijuana. it's not synthetic marijuana it has nothing to do with marijuana STOP CALLING IT MARIJUANA y'know for being "news" folks you guys sure are lazy! is it: 1. you heard others call it that so you did too? 2. it looks like marijuana so you call it synthetic? 3. you are too lazy to figure out what it really is and what to call it: Spice quit clouding the waters! Peace

M

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 11:21 a.m.

Three stories in threes days in the news section about this, and they all have a massive slants against this. This is worse than Fox News. This is a witch hunt.

Alan Goldsmith

Thu, Jun 7, 2012 : 10:33 a.m.

"The employee declined to use his name, as did many other shop owners and employees at shops in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, whether they sell the product or not." So there is no way to find out the owner(s) of a business in the State of Michigan or Washtenaw County? Assumed name documents, incorporation papers, tax records? Uh huh. And it's NOT synthetic marijuana--why does AnnArbor.com continue to make this error, including putting the words in the mouth of an interview subject?