Olivers death has sparked outrage in the community. To fight his killer I have started a petition to ban all synthetic drugs. To sign the petition, you must create an account which is two boxes to the right of the "sign petition" box. The account is non-intrusive and takes less than five minutes to create. In this day and age with technology we have the luxury of passing a petition around online and to increase the validity and credibilityt of the petition, accounts must existence verifying that real people have signed instead of one individual clicking to sign 25,000 times. Take five minutes to create the account and electronically sign this petition, that five minutes WILL HELP SAVE LIVES. It is imperative that synthetic cannabis be banned at once in all forms that it exists in, too much tragedy surrounds its existence. Please help the families and friends of lost loved ones from synthetic cannabis use to not let their deaths be in vain and make a difference. 25,000 signatures must be acquired for this petition to be considered, so if you pass this email along to friends and family we can reach that number in NO TIME. This is an official petition and WILL make a difference. Please, do not let another life be lost due to this horrific drug and spend five minutes reading and signing the petition.Thank you,
Ryan Young

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/ban-all-synthetic-drugs-including-spice-k2-and-related-brands-currently-sold-legally-gas-stations/h94sc1SW

Oliver was a great kid and he will be missed.

Please sign the petition above that Ryan has spoken of.This should not happen to any other child and their family.
Barb Y

In dealing with Bloomfield "UNIFIED" school I was told that "we do not have a drug problem in our schools." Graduated from Andover and Lahser told me a different story. Parents who voted for the Unified school must expect the drug problem to increase. Smaller schools have better control than a train station school where people come and go and you do not know who the dealer is. New York and Chicago school districts dismantled big schools replacing them for small schools of 600-800 students. They saw a decrease in drug use and increase in scholastic achievements. Yet it is difficult to challernge marijuana use of our kids if president Clinton admits use of marijuana but he "did not inhale" and president Obama in his book admitted that he smoked marijuana and inhaled as well as used hard drugs (cocaine?). Are these the role models of our kids?

I think that is the most ludicrous argument for separate schools I have encountered. Please do yourself a favor and move on from your loss of the "unified" school. A boy is lost due to drug use which can happen in small schools or larger schools. Furthermore, as tragic as it is, one death does not constitute a drug problem.

I attended a small private school where a lot of cocaine and pot was used. The kids didn't get in trouble or were let "off" by the police because of their parents connections. It was just lucky no one died of an overdose.
Also, I think it is foolish to compare suburban Bloomfield Hills to inner city schools.

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I wanted to add that Oliver was a wonderful boy and he will be missed.

This should have been banned after first instance. We cant get decongestent from CVS unless we show id because kids where abusing it. Why is this k-2 available and not pulled from all shelves?

Ryan, I applaud your effort in putting together this petition in honor of Oliver and to prevent any further tragedies associated with synthetic marijuana. I hope that we achieve the needed goal of 25,000 signatures and that something will be done.

I have known Oliver and his family for many years . I can see him skiing zipping up and down the hills. This is the Oliver I will hold on to. I agree that Oliver's death not be in vain and Oliver act should be introduced.

Exactly Isaac Barr MD
I cannot understand how this has not been pulled from every shelf yet????

There is an informational presentation in Troy tonight about the dangers of spice. Judge Kirsten Nielson Hartig has partnered with the Troy and Clawson Community Coalitions and Chiefs of Police to host a K2/Spice Forum at 6:30 p.m. on May 30 at the Troy City Council Chambers. I saw an interview with her on Channel 4 morning news yesterday.

Here are two links about Judge Hartig and the issue. The first is a link to Channel 4 and the other is her opinion piece in the Troy Patch.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Local-judge-goes-undercover-to-investigate-K2-spice/-/1719418/14246774/-/upqythz/-/index.html

http://troy.patch.com/articles/judge-hartig-k2-spice

No car was parked by the beach where Oliver smith body was found which may suggest that a number of kids were involved. He did not get there by foot. I am enthusiastic about the Troy meeting but urge residents to call state reps and senators. This is what a parent wrote to me today:"we have a significant drug and alcohol problem in our schools. The schools do not deal with it. They pretend it isn't there, pretend that everything is perfect and all students will go to Harvard.
K2 (spice) is synthetic marijuana, and is often missed in routine drug screening. People on probation use it for that reason, and it is also cheap and widely available ".
My letter to Senator John Papageorge: " Dear Senator John Pappageorge, as you may know a body of Oliver Smith a18 year old recent graduate of Andover High School died of drug over dose. His body was found on the shore of Wing lake. The drug is called SPICE or K-2 and sold freely in places such as gas station in Michigan. This drug and similar drugs should be immediately banned in Michigan. Production, distribution and profiteering must be heavily penalised. Any drug that can affect psychological behavior must be distributed through pharmacies. Heavy penalties must be applied for violations. The state has to create a task force to implement the law, monitor drug use in schools, provide teachers for mandatory drug teaching in schools, train teachers. The act should be called "Oliver" act to commemorate life lost to drug abuse.

Isaac Barr MD
This is a great letter. It should be supported by citizens signatures and sent to everyone for the state of Michigan , including governer Snyder

My deepest sympathy goes out to the Smith family. Oliver will be missed by so many and I will always remember his beautiful smile. I encourage everyone to please sign the petition Ryan Young has put together to ban K2. Thank you Ryan for taking the initutive during this trying time to form this petition to eliminate K2.
My prayers and thoughts are with the Smith family and all of the friends Oliver left behind. He will truely be missed.
Alisa Daien

My brother in law smokes that garbage in lieu of weed. Says all the supposed hype over K2 is out of ignorance and that these kids who are supposedly dying of the stuff probably have some other health issue going on. I don't agree, but how do you argue with a drug addict?

Very late on the comments, but just to clarify, there were no other kids involved and he DID get there by foot. He lived very close by. There are houses up and down that street.