The Alabama Legislature recently passed a bill banning a wide range of synthetic drugs.

If the bill is signed into law by Gov. Robert Bentley, as expected, the bill will ban dozens of substances used to make items such as “synthetic marijuana,” “spice” and other illicit drugs.

Synthetic marijuana has been on the rise in Shelby County, as it has been across the state, and can cause seizures, stomach and kidney issues.

However, banning such synthetic drugs has been problematic up until now, because if an ingredient in a synthetic drug was banned, drug suppliers would simply change the ingredient to make the synthetic drug legal again.

We applaud the state Legislature for taking strong steps to get such drugs off the market and out of the hands of our teenagers.

We hope this ban will help the Shelby County School System in making sure students aren’t using such drugs, especially on school grounds.

As widely-abused synthetic drugs become illegal, our law enforcement officials will be able to help parents and educators ensure these drugs aren’t so easy to come by.

However, just because synthetic drugs should soon be illegal, it doesn’t mean they won’t still be abused.

We urge local parents to talk to their children about synthetic drugs and help them understand why using synthetic drugs is a bad decision with potential long-term consequences.

Parents looking for information to use when talking with their children can check the Shelby County Schools website at Shelbyed.k12.al.us/parentresources/student_serv/trends.htm. Here, you will find information on synthetic marijuana and a wide range of other drugs.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.