Wasilla Spice ban moves forward

WASILLA — The legality of synthetic illicit drugs is spicing up debate among local and state officials.

On the heels of Wasilla City Council approving the introduction of an ordinance that would outlaw synthetic marijuana known colloquially as Spice, bath salts or potpourri, Senate Bill 173 has moved on to the state House of Representatives for debate. Both the Wasilla ordinance and SB 173 are similar and based on a Spice ordinance enacted by Anchorage that targets the misleading packaging of synthetic drugs.

After the Wasilla council failed to pass the introduction of the city’s spice ordinance in February, the council moved ahead March 24 with a public hearing for the proposal set for 6 p.m., April 14.

The ordinance targets the packaging of Spice rather than specific chemicals used in the synthetic drugs. If approved, the ordinance would make it illegal to possess or sell Spice. Anyone caught selling or in possession of the stuff could face a $500 fine for each package.

With names like Bliss, Meow Meow, XXX, Dead Man, Smokin’ Dragon and Funky Green Stuff, to name a few, its apparent these substances are sold for their drug-like effects — not for the purported uses on the packaging — to get around drug laws, Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright has said.

Apparently, many in the community agree. When the council passed the ordinance’s introduction without objection March 24, it came following public testimony favoring the law.

“This needs banned for the safety of our community,” said Michelle Overstreet, president of MY House, a nonprofit agency that helps homeless teens. She gave an example of how dangerous Spice can be.

“One of our favorite homeless kids who was coming and going last fall got mixed up with Spice, and if you were in there in October, November or December, you might have heard somebody playing the piano,” she said. “He played the piano beautifully. …. He smoked this and was in a coma for five days and he can (now) play about 30 seconds of the stuff he used to be able to play by heart. … He’s lost. He’s a lost boy.”

Terri Block said her family had to learn the hard way about the detrimental effects of Spice. Her oldest daughter was hit head-on by a driver under the influence of synthetic drugs who was driving the wrong way on a freeway. And her son, who’s in college, tells stories of friends who frequently use Spice.

“He believes if you make this hard for them to get it, you’ll see less tragedies,” she said.

Robert Friesen said he also knows from experience how dangerous synthetic drugs can be.

“Someone very dear to me came that close to dying from Spice — that close,” he said. “Only through divine intervention is he still alive.”

He also doesn’t buy the argument that the six businesses in Wasilla that sell Spice need time to get through their inventory before enacting an ordinance banning the stuff.

“I don’t want another lecture from anybody about running a business,” he said. “I’ve been running a business my entire life. These people know exactly what they’re selling and they don’t need another 30 days or 60 days or 90 days to sell the stock that they have. One of those doses is going to kill someone.”

That was a sentiment shared by Taffina Katkus, a former city councilwoman and a local businesswoman. She said any business that would willingly sell something harmful to local residents isn’t a business Wasilla needs.

“If you’re a merchant and you’re doing something that’s not good for the community — a good merchant would pull off that stock,” she said. “Good businesses that have the community at heart will pull that (stuff) off.”

If anyone had doubts that Spice is dangerous, Mat-Su Health Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Ripley added further evidence. The foundation is also part owner of Mat-Su Regional Hospital, and she said the hospital is experiencing increased emergency traffic due to Spice.

“We’re seeing an increase of people presenting to Mat-Su Regional’s emergency department who are having health issues due to the use of these synthetic drugs,” she said.

“It’s called the ‘I-want-to-be-a-zombie’ drug, and the reason for that is because Spice and bath salts are not regulated,” added Michael P. Carson, a retired teacher and vice president of MY House. “That means when I buy a package, and I buy a package right next to it, I have no idea what the active ingredient is. This package might keep me up for three or four hours, (while) this package might keep me up for three or four days. There’s no way to know. You need to realize how dangerous these drugs are. They should not be on the street. This stuff is wicked and … possibly deadly.”

Not a slam-dunk

While public testimony all favored the ordinance, it didn’t sail through without some dissent. Councilman Brandon Wall has been a vocal opponent of the proposal, not because he’s pro-Spice, but because he believes the ordinance is written poorly.

In a letter to the council dated March 24, Wall cites five reasons he doesn’t support the ordinance, including that it transfers the burden of proof from law enforcement to the accused and “leaves a tremendous amount of discretion and interpretation to law enforcement.”

He also said that because the language is lacking, it could lead to unfair prosecution and/or damage to a person’s reputation.

“Whether this is a misdemeanor or felony drug charge or just a citation, it still holds the stigma of being a drug charge,” he says in his letter. “Whether the charge is dropped or not, oftentimes the citation remains on the accused’s record and may be viewable online and perhaps through background checks. This could have a significant impact on a person’s life and livelihood.”

During the March 24 meeting, Wall said he’s not against banning Spice. He said he wants the language to be tighter and to make law enforcement more accountable when accusing people of selling or possessing the substance.

“It makes me question why we’re not looking at other options that other municipalities are looking into,” he said. “This was hard for me to vote no on last time, and hearing the testimony from people, it’s really hard now.”

That there has been so much debate about getting Spice off city streets has been frustrating, councilwoman Leone Harris said. Harris was absent from the February meeting when the ordinance failed to pass by one vote. She has said that had she been there, she would have voted for it.

“It’s a crying shame that any kind of city council has to go through such drastic measures to get something off the street,” she said. “And it’s all driven by greed of shop owners and the fact that they obviously don’t care about their customers and they don’t really care about their community. I’m surprised it didn’t pass last time. I think what we have now might be even better.”

Councilman Clark Buswell said he shares some of Wall’s concerns, but conceded the momentum with the council is to move forward with the current ordinance.

“This is going to pass, I know, and I really don’t have any problem getting the stuff off the shelf,” he said, adding that any law is just a way of trying to curtail behavior. “I think the real problem here is having people take ownership or responsibility for their actions, and I don’t really know how to fix that.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.