Seneca Nation council bans sale of fake marijuana

SALAMANCA, N.Y. (AP) – Seneca Indian leaders have banned the sale of synthetic marijuana, bath salts and drug paraphernalia on the tribe’s western New York territories.

The Senecas said Monday that tribal councilors approved the ban on Sunday. But they say it had nothing to do with a federal law enforcement raid targeting such products on the separate Tonawanda Seneca reservation last month.

Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter says Sunday’s vote had been in the works for months and is consistent with the nation’s anti-drug policy.

The council voted to prohibit reservation businesses from selling things like herbal incense and bath salts that produce a drug-like high when smoked. The ban also includes pipes and clips used to smoke marijuana.

Ceremonial pipes used in healing and prayer are exempt.