A Senate judiciary committee voted Thursday to ban synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of marijuana. “With synthetic cannabis, the physiological and psychological effects can be much more severe,” Greensboro police Capt. Richard Whisenant told the committee shortly before the vote. Possession of the drugs would become a misdemeanor under the bill, which is backed by commanders at Camp Lejeune and the state’s Child Fatality Task Force. If passed in its current form, the ban would go into effect April 1. The bill next goes to the Senate floor and, if approved there, onto the House for consideration.(Mark Binker, THE NEWS & RECORD, 2/03/11).