On Sunday K2 and Salvia were officially reclassified as a Schedule I drug in the state of Iowa. This classification effectively makes K2 and salvia illegal to own, sell and manufacture. “Scheduled drugs” are essentially a classification system; they are ranked on a scale of 1 (I) to 5 (V) with I being the most dangerous and addictive and V being the least. Also included on the list of Schedule I drugs: heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Gov. Terry Branstad originally signed the bill on July 29 to reclassify K2 and salvia. The bill, SF 510, makes illegal “any substance, compound, mixture or preparation, which contains any quantity of synthetic cannabinoid.” In other words, any synthetic marijuana is now illegal.

The rescheduling of cannabinoid substances occurred following the death of David Rozga, an 18-year-old from Indianola who committed suicide after smoking K2. The Iowa Pharmaceutical Board placed an emergency ban on K2 after Rozga’s death, followed by the permanent ban that has been effective since last Sunday.

Our conservative state lawmakers, Branstad included, have famously touted the need to make government smaller and “less intrusive.” As Iowans lose jobs and can’t afford their health care, tuition goes up, quality of education down, and other life-altering issues prevail, conservative lawmakers have defended their slashing of programs (you know, like our education) because government must be made a “less intrusive force in people’s lives” (and because big business can’t thrive without corporate welfare that must be paid for by someone other than the wealthy white men that run them- another conversation).

Though Rozga’s death is an unfortunate situation, our state lawmakers seem to be looking to prevent future situations of a similar caliber in all the wrong ways. They are touting their political rhetoric of “keeping out of people’s lives” while making a form of incense — yes, a form of potpourri incense — illegal. Let’s review the situation:

David Rozga committed suicide on June 6, 2010, in Indianola, Iowa. After smoking the substance K2, Rozga went home and later shot and killed himself with a firearm. Though he consumed the incense with his friends, Rozga was the only person who reportedly had a negative reaction. Rozga’s family blamed his suicide on K2. Lawmakers have subsequently blamed the substance for Rozga’s death, and have made the substance illegal to possess, consume or sell with the stated intent of protecting others from the same tragic end.

There are several holes in the above situation and conservative lawmakers’ recent solution. As an individual who’s smoked synthetic marijuanas such as K2 before, the substance’s effects do not typically last longer than 20 minutes. For Rozga to commit suicide while under the very brief influence of K2, he would have had to smoke the substance with his friends, immediately left, and ran home in time to find a firearm and kill himself — all in 20 minutes. Not very realistic.

There are no documented cases of overdosing on synthetic marijuanas (or any marijuanas for that matter). Though nearly every substance has a miniscule percentage of people who can have allergic reactions to them (i.e., “if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours …”), this is merely worst-case scenario. It is highly unlikely Rozga had a reaction to K2 — and even more unlikely this reaction lasted long enough for him to influence him in his decision to kill himself later that evening.

Rozga’s mother blamed K2 for her son’s suicide, igniting a mass of anti-synthetic marijuana legislation. Rozga’s mother said the suicide had to be the result of the K2 because according to her, a suicide is out of character for Rozga. Despite his mother’s protests, another mother claims Rozga had been depressed for months. In fact, Rozga had openly talked about suicide in the past. It is very possible Rozga’s suicide would have happened regardless of his K2 consumption.

In addition to lawmakers’ overall misinterpretation of the situation, a few things have been completely overlooked. For example:

Why has this case been given so much attention? Though the death of this individual is tragic, alcohol causes more deaths in youth in Iowa than any drug combined. Do we outlaw alcohol? Did we blame alcohol and attempt to eradicate it when several of our fellow students died last year as a result of consuming it?

Also, if conservatives have deemed it OK for government to “impede on our personal lives,” supposedly to prevent a tragedy such as this, why have they not also pursued the stricter regulation of guns? The gun Rozga used to kill himself obviously played a large role in his death — had he not had access to the gun, he couldn’t have shot and killed himself.

If conservatives really wanted to see an end to suicide, they sure have a cruddy way of showing it. Instead of working on lowering the corporate tax rate and making potpourri illegal, how about increasing funding for mental health programs and research? Why not pour money into education programs that support young peoples’ development and well-being? Why not increase funding for suicide-awareness campaigns? Why not look into current alcohol policy and how it contributes to binge drinking? Why not regulate guns differently to keep them out of suicidal hands? If our state lawmakers are going to call regulation a dirty word with the exception of when in the name of the public safety, I’d prefer that they stop worrying about the flavor of potpourri I smoke and whom I marry, and focus on issues of real public safety: health care, education and social justice.