nannamom
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Age : 66
Humor : Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. -Christopher Reeve
Registration date : 2008-11-09
 | | Subject: New drug ban gets quick use in Vermont Sun 22 Jul 2012, 10:47 am | |
|  BARRE — Moments after Human Services Secretary Doug Racine signed an emergency rule making more kinds of “bath salts” and drugs like them illegal in Vermont on Friday, Barre City Police Chief Tim Bombardier walked up the street to the Insane Glass smoke shop on North Main Street on a mission to confiscate.
The signing was part of a news conference at City Hall Park in Barre and included Gov. Peter Shumlin, Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon and Mark Depman, head of Central Vermont Medical Center’s emergency room, as well as other health and law enforcement officials.
The rule bans the sale, possession and manufacture of 32 synthetic stimulant-type drugs — widely known as “bath salts” — nine synthetic mescalines, and 45 synthetic cannabinoids or “fake marijuana.”
The emergency rule went into effect as soon as it was filed with the secretary of state minutes after Racine signed it. Bombardier did not waste any time telling the smoke shop that it was not in compliance. Bombardier said the store was known to sell variations of the synthetic drugs.
“Just so you know, you probably have a ton of stuff that is illegal to possess in Vermont,” Bombardier said to the smoke shop worker. “If it’s illegal, I want to take possession of it so you’re not ... violating the law.”
The worker took down displays and locked the doors, temporarily closing until he and the police chief could figure out what, if any, of the products the store could sell. The Barre police would keep the rest.
The drugs are being banned because they can cause hallucinations, aggressive behavior, kidney damage and even death, according to Depman.
The Shumlin administration implemented a similar but narrower emergency rule almost a year ago, and since then manufacturers of the drugs altered the chemical makeup to make them legal again. Shumlin thinks his administration has fixed that problem.
“We believe that we have figured out a way to make the rule so broad that (drugs like “bath salts”) will be illegal no matter what they mix into them for this particular purpose,” he said.
The rule puts all stimulants known as cathinones, what “bath salts” and similar drugs are categorized under, on the regulated drug list.
Shumlin said he is working on an executive order planned for August that would be even more broadly worded and ban all chemicals that are made for human consumption to achieve a “high.”
Shumlin said he wanted the manufacturers and sellers of these drugs to know that his administration would prosecute them.
“We will hunt you down,” he said.
One thing that was not clear was whether people who bought the drugs legally days ago would now be breaking the law.
“We’ll take them to court to find out,” Shumlin said, adding he believed the rule does make any possession of the newly outlawed chemicals illegal.
The emergency rule was recently approved by three boards: the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Medical Practice and the Board of Health. The rule remains in effect for 120 days and can be renewed by going through the same three-board approval process again. The Shumlin administration said it is in the process of making the rule permanent.
Those caught possessing, selling or making the drugs could face a fine or years in prison, depending on how much they have.
source:
Rutland Herald
Last edited by nannamom on Sun 22 Jul 2012, 10:49 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : add content) | |
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MonicaS
Number of posts : 189
Age : 48
Humor : Recovery is a journey to be taken not a destination to be reached.
Registration date : 2012-01-18
| | Subject: Re: New drug ban gets quick use in Vermont Sun 22 Jul 2012, 11:51 am | |
| I'm happy that officials are starting to take action to eliminate the latest thing to hit the streets. My only concern is that if these laws are made to broad, who determines what chemicals are made for human consumption to produce a high, and who determines what high is. Unfortunately it has been proven time and time again that common sense doesn't always apply to those who are in a law enforcement position or various other positions of power. Will there be some kind of oversight committee to keep this law from reaching too far? I know that it may sound rediculous to some but there are people who consider chocolate a drug because it causes the brain to release endorphins, or the feel good chemicals that opiates stimulate the release of. I'm not saying that bath salts or synthetic marijuana should be legal, but I do believe there is a fine line between protecting the public and imposing your personal feelings on others. We as a society have to be careful not to over-reach with these types of laws because while the motives behind these sweeping bans are great, they can be used to justify criminalizing things that don't need to be made criminal. I personally believe that any law aimed at getting these new designer drugs off of the street needs to be limited to that purpose, so that some zealot with great intentions doesn't take it too far. I don't think that more laws are the answer to the drug problem in this country. The one's we have are already difficult for overworked and underfunded police forces to enforce. The answer in my opinion lies in educating people about the dangers of these substances and getting to the issues that cause people to want to get high in the first place. The fact is that no matter how many times things are made illegal people find a way to avoid reality and that is where we need to start to curb the epidemic of drug/chemical use and abuse. | |
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