Anchorage has a new law that fines people in possession of the designer drug spice. It's the city's second try at cracking down on the drug...after failed attempts with a narrow law that focused on contents that manufacturers change quickly. The Anchorage Assembly acted quickly after hearing public testimony on the damage that spice has been doing.
It's just like a traffic ticket, but for drugs. Anchorage police officers can now write anyone a ticket per vial, tube or pack in possession of a spice or bath salt product. Municipal Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin says the new law identifies the substances without actually naming their chemical compounds or makeup.
"They identify it by it's packaging, by it's price point, by it's claims. By the fact that it says on its package that it's not a controlled substance even though it says it's potpourri. That makes no sense. Potpourri is not a controlled substance so why would it say on it's package that it's not a controlled substance. What this ordinance says is that if it says it's not a controlled substance then it's an illicit synthetic drug and it's illegal."
Franklin, who helped pass the first spice ordinance in 2010, says manufacturers of drug change its composition quickly. The new law is based on one that was passed in Maine and will make laboratory tests less necessary. Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew says the new law gives police a way to immediately to get the drug off the streets, through ticketing.
"You pay a fine. That fine, if you don't pay it will go to your permanent fund. It's quick. Because it's quick, because it's not criminal you don't get a free attorney from the government, you don't get a right to jury trial. It's a low level crime, it's handled low, it's handled in an inexpensive way for the public. And while it's not the total solution, it is a simple solution that we can put to use right a way while the more complex law starts developing."
The tickets are $500 per item. Officers could begin issuing them as early as this week.
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