"Yesterday, Governor Hickenlooper signed a bill making it illegal to use, sell and possess cathinones, which are the family of chemicals in bath salts.
"Yesterday was a big victory for families, for law enforcement and really the state at large," says Jim Schrant, Resident Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Bath salts have a dangerous, sometimes deadly effect on those who try it.
"Just like that, an overdose, a suicide attempt. This is really like playing with a time bomb," Schrant says.
This time bomb may be particularly hard to catch. It's sold as an assortment of things including stain remover, plant food and crystals. One thing that all forms have in common is who they're marketing to.
"This stuff is being produced in China, Mexico and India for the sole purpose of being sold to young people here in the US," he says.
"I think that that's completely wrong of local businesses to market products that aren't good for you towards kids when they're more liable to buy them," says Grand Junction Resident Christopher Little.
Schrant says the packaging is colorful with words like "excite" and "wow." Under the new law, any businesses caught selling anything with these ingredients will face a hefty penalty.
"In our view it's just like drug trafficking and will be treated legally just like drug trafficking even if it's just a convenient store or head shop," he says.
They're looking to stop the manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of bath salts. But this law doesn't solve the problem when science gets a step ahead of the law.
"They're trying new chemical compounds that aren't illegal to try to replicate the effects of bath salts," Schrant says.
That's why, he says, it needs to be a community effort.
"It needs to be a partnership with the community and law enforcement. We're going to do what we can to keep this out of the kids' hands but we really need awareness and education by the parents, teachers, kids and their friends to realize this is really a problem," Schrant says...."
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1 comment:
Good work to everyone who brought this law into place. Special thanks to the dedication of all western slope agents who stay the course.
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