Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2012
Source: Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)
Copyright: 2012 Daily Freeman
Contact:  http://www.dailyfreeman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3269
Author: William J. Kemble

POLICE OFFICIAL BACKS TOWN OF ULSTER'S PROPOSED BAN ON SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA

TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. - The Town Board has received support from town 
police for a proposed law that would ban the sale of synthetic 
marijuana and impose jail time for its possession.

Lt. Anthony Cruise, the officer in charge of the Ulster Police 
Department, was the only speaker at a Thursday evening hearing on the proposal.

After the session, Cruise said incidents involving synthetic 
marijuana prove the law is needed.

"We've had (traffic) stops where we've had people in possession of 
synthetic marijuana," he said. "We've had complaints where we've had 
irate people at businesses where we learned later (they) had been 
smoking synthetic marijuana, maybe on their break, and they'd been acting out."

The proposed law, targeting products that are sold under such 
commercial names as K-2 and Mr. Nice Guy, would make it illegal to 
"sell, offer for sale, deliver, knowingly possess, smoke, inhale, 
ingest, consume or be under the influence of any product containing 
any material, compound, mixture or preparation which contains any 
quantity of synthetic cannabinoids."

Penalties under Ulster's proposed law would be up to a $250 fine 
and/or 30 days in jail for a first offense, up to a $500 fine and/or 
60 days in jail for a second offense and up to a $1,000 fine and/or a 
year in jail for a third offense.

"The tendencies that we see across the country with this synthetic 
marijuana has real ill effects through psychotic behavior, and we 
have dealt with a few of those instances," Cruis said.

"What we effectively do now is, if they are having a psychotic 
episode and we believe it's because of the use of this, we'll 
basically send them to the hospital for a mental health evaluation 
for their own safety," the lieutenant added. "But other than that, 
there is nothing we can really do as far as effectively arresting them."

Town Attorney Jason Kovacs said the proposed law addresses weaknesses 
in recently adopted state regulations that ban the sale and 
distribution, but not the possession, of synthetic marijuana.

"The town has the option of doing this because there is no state law 
that criminalizes possession synthetic marijuana," Kovacs said. 
"Earlier this year, the (state) Health Department passed a regulation 
that prohibited the sale of these items but did not make it a crime 
to possess or to use synthetic marijuana." A law enacted earlier this 
year in the town and village of Saugerties prohibits the sale, 
possession or distribution of synthetic marijuana.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom