LANCASTER — At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Lancaster joined a growing statewide trend targeted at banning the sale of synthetic drugs.
Council members voted 5-1 to pass the first reading of a city ordinance making it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone to use or sell substances designed to mimic the intoxicating effects of illegal drugs such as opiates, marijuana, PCP or methamphetamine. The ordinance would also ban any substance that contains chemicals such as salvia divinorum, methylone, 4-methoxymethcathinone and 3-fluoromethcathinone.
Merchants usually sell synthetic drugs as incense or bath salts, said Lancaster Police Chief Rodney Kidd during the meeting. The ordinance does not ban legitimate bath salts which contain sea salt or Epsom salt as the primary ingredient.
Councilman Chris Davis drafted and proposed the ordinance, which he modeled after McCracken County’s.
“I received a call from a citizen concerned about the sales of synthetic drugs, and we’ve had an issue with it in the schools,” Davis said. “I really feel we need to get a hold of this problem.”
