Blue Mountain, Fulton and Iuka have joined a growing list of other municipalities by banning a synthetic marijuana commonly known as Spice.

Boards in all three communities voted recently to prohibit stores from selling the product, which is typically marketed as an incense and "not for human consumption," but is frequently rolled and smoked like cannabis.

Users claim the product produces a high akin to smoking marijuana.

The communities follow the lead of Tupelo, Southaven, Olive Branch, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and several others that have acted this summer to outlaw the substance.

The ordinances all are currently in effect.

Depending on the community, stores or people caught in possession of the substance face misdemeanor charges with maximum penalties of $1,000-$2,500 in fines and/or six months in the jail.

Pontotoc could be next. Police Chief Larry Poole recently asked aldermen to consider banning the substance. The board took the matter under advisement and will act on it at its next meeting in August.

"We know two stores that sell the substance," Poole said. "I want it banned because of the way it affects the people."

According to Fulton Mayor Paul Walker, the ban is a step in the right direction - a way to stamp out a problem before it causes too much trouble.

"The city board and I thought that it was the thing to do, eliminating this type of synthetic drug as quickly as possible to keep it out of kids' hands," Walker said.

The mayor called the product "nothing but a narcotic."

Neither the state nor federal governments have classified Spice and its counterparts as illegal narcotics. But the Mississippi Legislature will consider a statewide ban when their next session begins in January.

Other states that have outlawed Spice include Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota and Tennessee.