The Arkansas Board of Health has called a special meeting for Friday to discuss whether to enact an emergency ban of synthetic marijuana products.
The board announced Monday that it will consider a proposed emergency regulation that would prohibit products marketed as K2, Zohia, Spice and under other names.
A number of Arkansas cities and counties have made the product illegal.
The synthetic compound is chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Users smoke in cigarettes or pipes, just as they would real marijuana.
The formula was developed by a Clemson University researcher who was studying the effect of cannabinoids on the brain and published his method and results in 1995.