Riverside County to consider crackdown on synthetic drugs

Riverside County supervisors will consider a measure intended to crackdown on the distribution of illegal synthetic drugs at their meeting Tuesday. “Synthetic drugs are extremely dangerous and are gaining popularity at an alarming rate among high school and college-age individuals, as well as among the homeless, parolees and probationers,” Supervisor Chuck Washington wrote in documents posted to the Board of Supervisors’ policy agenda for Tuesday. “These drugs are available for purchase in stores and shops throughout the county, despite the state’s attempt to ban such drugs … and the federal government’s attempt to ban such drugs,” the supervisor said. Under his proposal, individuals caught selling, supplying or otherwise being in possession of prohibited synthetics could be subject to misdemeanor charges. Washington first broached the idea of an ordinance regulating illegal synthetic drugs back in April. After months of research and vetting by the Riverside County Office of County Counsel, District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Department, Ordinance No. 932 was drafted. Washington acknowledged that the State Synthetic Drug Laws and the federal Controlled Substances Act contain provisions that target the manufacturing and distribution of many synthetics. But he said the drugs are so “easily and quickly” altered that state and federal law enforcement officials can’t keep up. That’s where Ordinance No. 932 might prove effective, the supervisor said. Liquor stores, smoke shops and other outlets that place synthetic “intoxicating chemical substances” on their shelves could be fined and face other penalties in county-led enforcement actions, according to the ordinance. Similarly, private individuals distributing illicit synthetics would also be penalized.