Utah State University - » Millville may become next city to ban spice

Millville may become next city to ban spice

October 31st, 2010 Posted in Opinion

By Marissa Bodily

MILLVILLE–The City Council is considering implementing an ordinance to ban the synthetic cannabinoid commonly referred to as spice.

Sgt. Mikelshan Bartschi used a PowerPoint presentation at the council meeting Thursday to illustrate the dangers of spice and how common it is becoming. The law to ban drugs was good at the time, but there are so many new drugs that it is becoming difficult to manage, Bartschi said.

Spice is the generalized name, said Bartschi, but the substance is also referred to as spice diamond, black mamba and many other names.

Law enforcement is doing what they can about the issue because parents are saying their kids have been hospitalized because of spice and 12-years-old are using it.

“Spice is easy to purchase right now, but that’s slowing down quite a bit,” Bartschi said.

Overdoses can occur with minimal doses. Bartschi said one gram can be deadly. Logan Regional Hospital reported 200 emergency room visits in 2010 due to spice overdose. That figure is almost equal to the ER visits due to illegal and illicit drugs combined, he said.

“We need [spice] to be banned everywhere so that law enforcement has the proper tools to take care of it,” Bartschi said.

JWH-018 is the chemical in spice that gets people high. Other chemicals of concern are CP-47, HU-210, HU-211 and JWH-073. The new ordinance would ban all these chemicals that are similar to spice and make possession of any of them a third-degree felony, Bartschi said. He said the effects of spice are similar to the effects of marijuana.

The council will address the ordinance at the next meeting, Mayor Mike Johnson said.

“Until the feds step up and do something about [spice], unfortunately we have to,” Johnson said.

The council also approved a request for a minor subdivision at the meeting and voted to allow the property owners to pay a $1,000 fee in lieu of giving up a water share.

The council also addressed updates on Millville Memories Book.

Steve Krebs presented information about Questar’s Heat and Thermwise programs available to the city. To apply for the program or find out more information visit thermwise.com. Johnson said they will put the fliers in the newsletter.

The next city council meeting will be Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.

NW

Tags: ban, city council, Millville, spice