Synthetic Marijuana, Citizens Survey on City Commission Agenda Tonight

At their 7:30 p.m. regular meeting at , Royal Oak officials are expected to discuss a variety of matters, including the following:

Pending legislation to control synthetic drugs

Royal Oak City Commissioners David Poulton and Peggy Goodwin want to have a discussion on legislation aimed at controlling the sale and use of synthetic drugs.

"We will be discussing a proposed ordinance to ban the sale of K2/Spice in the city, public awareness to educate the public and a potential campaign to publicly acknowledge those businesses who pledge not to sell it," Goodwin said.

would require the Michigan Department of Community Health in cooperation with the State Police, to analyze the content of the herbal mixtures and create a written report of its findings.

The bill concerns rampant sale and use of the synthetic drug known commonly as The drug has stirred up opposition in Michigan – especially recently, with several highly publicized cases of violence or health problems resulting in teens who used the drug.

In Oakland County, County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Sheriff Michael Bouchard on Friday and other synthetic designer drugs. The county will issue a window decal to business owners who notify the county that they will not sell synthetic drugs.

Under a law passed by the state Legislature in September 2010, the possession or use of certain synthetic drugs was banned in Michigan. Earlier this year, there was also legislation introduced that would update Michigan's law so the penalties for the sale and use of certain synthetic drugs would be similar to that for other Schedule 1 controlled substances.

However, manufacturers have been able to get around the law by simply changing the chemical makeup and ingredients in the herbal mixtures and synthetic cannabinoids. Requiring a detailed analysis and report of these substances could be a useful tool in regulating the sale and use of these materials, officials say.

Residents Survey Proposed

As part of its goals to "ensure effective decision making," the City Commission has expressed an interest in retaining a consultant to conduct a survey of registered voters in the city of Royal Oak, according to a letter to commissioners from City Manager Don Johnson.

"The purpose of the survey is to find out the residents’ perception of how well we are doing as a local government, and to find out the programs and services of priority to residents to help allocate scarce resources in a manner that is most beneficial to residents," Johnson said in the letter. "Another goal that we hope to accomplish with this survey is to find out how citizens feel about other topics such as a proposed tax millage, refuse collection, special collection needs, branding, and the downtown plan by adding a short number of questions on the survey for each subject."

The survey would be sent randomly to 382 Royal Oak residents, who are registered voters, by mail. 

Commissioners are to vote on a  resolution tonight to contract with the Public Affairs Research Laboratory (PARL) at Oakland University to begin working on the survey project. 

Other agenda items

•  
• public hearing adoption of the 2012/2013 fiscal year budget
• resolutions to adopt the 2012/2013 fiscal year budget
• Rules Committee recommendations
• parking stations ordinance amendment
• special event ordinance amendment, 
• special assessment standard resolutions
• agreement to provide animal control services