When Livingston County officials declared synthetic marijuana, also known as Spice, K2, LOL, OMG and Bath Salts, an imminent health danger and issued an emergency order preventing sales in June, many parents and community members gave a sigh of relief.

The issue of synthetic drug use and addiction, however, has not gone away. According to Scott Masi, an outreach and referral specialist for the Brighton Center for Recovery, the recovery center so far hasn't seen any downtick in synthetic use but are seeing more deceptive behavior from their patients.

"We're in a perfect storm," Masi said. "The potency of these products, availability, undetectable, unsuspecting youth– and what's happening is this is leading to a collasping time frame of addiction."

Masi says many families are in shock when they bring their children in for help because the addiction "happened right under them and so quickly" and says that right now "it's all about preventative education."

On Aug. 9, the Brighton Center for Recovery will be offering a day long Synthetic Summit training for professionals followed by a community information session. Masi said he expects around 200 people so far and that Hartland Schools will be represented at the forum with 8 students scheduled to attend the event.

Brighton Patch wants to know, what issues or questions do you think need to be addressed during the forum? How can communties work to keep their family members safe even after the ban?

Tell us in comments.

Brighton Patch Editor Nicole Krawcke contributed to this story.