Synthetic marijuana brand K-2: The South Bend Common Council voted Moday night to add dealing in synthetic marijuana to the list of behaviors that constitute a 'disorderly house,' whose owner can be fined by the city. Image provided
SOUTH BEND — About three years after police and prosecutors shut down stores selling synthetic marijuana in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, criminally charging clerks and owners, the drug remains a serious problem in South Bend, common council members said Monday as they took another shot at addressing the issue.
The council voted unanimously to add dealing synthetic marijuana to the list of behaviors that can qualify a property as a “disorderly house” under city code. The designation allows the city to fine property owners from $250 to $2,500 per violation.
Council member Karen White recalled how city officials gathered for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Jan. 15 on the steps of Laymen Chapel and saw first-hand how the look-alike drug is sickening and killing people. Three male teens came to the chapel’s steps to lie down there after smoking synthetic marijuana, she said, one of whom was reportedly tended to by Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
The Indiana General Assembly banned a form of synthetic marijuana in 2011 but new forms have emerged that are different enough from prior versions to be distinct legally. In 2014, police and prosecutors in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties raided convenience stores, charging clerks and owners with selling the drugs and forcing the stores' temporary closure.
But stores in South Bend are again selling it, said South Bend police chief Scott Ruszkowski.
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