Officials want to ban K2 in Whitley County
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Columbia City Rotarians Harold Myers and Gene Heckman take a closer look at a package of K2 during a meeting recently where discussion about banning the substance in Whitley County took place. It is currently legal to buy at one location in Columbia City, but Bill Brice of the Whitley County Drug Task Force is among those who would like to see sale of K2 banned.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
If you've watched the regional news at all this summer, you've likely heard of something called K2 and know enough to know people in Fort Wayne are steaming about it. 
The marijuana-like substance is legal -- but medical professionals, drug enforcement officials and others believe it is a dangerous substance that should be banned locally.
K2, also called "spice" or "smoke," is a substance marketed for use as a natural incense. Found it convenience stores, it often contains a variety of natural herbs and a form of synthetic marijuana called cannabanoid JWH-018. When smoked, it produces similar effects to natural marijuana -- but it does not register on drug tests.
While packaging indicates it is not meant for human use, it is being used that way in many communities -- including Whitley County.
According to Bill Brice of the Whitley County Drug Task Force, K2 was initially available at three locations in Whitley County, but is now only available at a Marathon station on Armstrong Drive in Columbia City.
"Two other places have pulled it off their shelves," Brice said. "But it's being sold right here," he told Columbia City Rotarians last week.
If working with local retailers to keep the drug off shelves seems like enough to prevent it's availability locally, Brice wants to take it a step further.
He recently met with the Whitley County Commissioners to request their help in creating an ordinance to prevent the future sale of K2 in Whitley County.
"I think it is important to keep that out of our community," Brice said. K2 is currently banned in five states and many other states hope to ban it in the near future. In the meantime, many communities are working to ban it at the local level.