A local law banning synthetic marijuana goes into effect Wednesday as elected officials take emergency action to get products linked to health problems and crime out of party stores and gas stations.

A federal law is on track to make it illegal to sell the products marketed as K2, Spice and Scooby Doo Potpourri on July 4 but the City Commission didn’t want to wait. “This is something we needed to act on now,” David Poulton said of the unanimous vote taken Monday. “It’s a threat to public safety and public health.”

The mixtures of plant material and chemicals that mimic marijuana have been linked to the fatal overdose of an 18-year-old in Bloomfield Township, the baseball bat attack on the Cirpriano family in Farmington Hills, and the shooting death of a 17-year-old in West Bloomfield.

The city modeled its ordinance after one passed in West Bloomfield on Monday, making the possession, use and sale of any synthetic drugs a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both.