Neb. lawmakers approve bill to ban K2

Nebraska lawmakers have approved a bill to ban a class of chemicals used to make a substance that mimics the effects of marijuana. Lawmakers gave final-round approval Wednesday to Omaha Sen. Beau McCoy's measure (LB19).

It was passed with an emergency clause, so it will go into effect immediately if signed by the governor. The bill targets a substance often called “K2'' or “spice''  a mixture of herbs and spices sprayed with a synthetic compound similar to the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Users smoke it in roll-up cigarettes or pipes. McCoy and law enforcement officials say some K2 users have had seizures, and the drug has been blamed for the death last year of an Iowa teenager.

Some states have already banned the substance, including Kansas and Missouri.