Pubdate: Fri, 15 Aug 2014
Source: Gainesville Sun, The (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Gainesville Sun
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/yMmn4Ifw
Website: http://www.gainesville.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/163
Author: Arek Sarkissian

OFFICERS LOCALLY USING KIT TO TEST FOR 'SPICE'

A new field test kit adopted by the Gainesville-Alachua County Drug 
Task Force provides officers with some power in the fight against the 
synthetic drug known as "spice," and a proposed city ordinance up for 
discussion could create an outright ban on the drug.

A field test kit that the city-county drug task force deployed about 
a month ago can test for eight compounds found in the synthetic drug 
known on the street as synthetic marijuana or spice.

The disposable device is similar to field kits used by officers to 
test for drugs such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin, but the 
chemical makeup of the synthetic drug is trickier.

If the test does not return a positive result, an officer cannot make 
a field arrest.

"If it falls outside, then we have to send the substance to a lab 
before we can make a physical arrest," said Lt. Matthew Nechodom of 
the city-county drug task force.

For instance, the strain of the drug that recently sent 30 people to 
Gainesville area hospitals over several days would not have tested 
positive using the new kits.

"But it's all we've got," he said. "Without the test, we cannot make 
a physical arrest in the field."

The kits have been on the market for about a year, but Nechodom opted 
to observe other departments before introducing them in the Gainesville area.

"We wanted to have a track record before we brought them on," he said.

Lawmakers have provided some help in the fight against spice. Florida 
Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Legislature created an annual 
strategy to temporarily place a ban on new chemical compounds until a 
permanent state law is passed.

The effort has made roughly 130 compounds illegal since the 2011 
session, according to information provided by Bondi's office.

State Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said he led sponsorship of 
the bans to protect Alachua County's robust student population.

"The hopeful effect is to stay ahead of the bad guys," Bradley said, 
who represents portions of Alachua County in Tallahassee. "For right 
now, the strategy we have with our attorney general is all we've got."

Nechodom said an ordinance set for discussion during an Aug. 21 
Gainesville City Commission meeting could ban the sale of items, such 
as the synthetic drug, that do not come with an ingredient list.

An explanation in the meeting agenda stated the federal High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program encourages Florida cities to 
regulate packaging as a first step toward regulating the sale of 
synthetic drugs.

Much of the language in the city proposal was taken from an ordinance 
passed in February 2013 by the Hillsborough County Commission.

"From what I've heard, it has been successful," Nechodom said.

Spice is popular among the city's transient population and carries 
the misnomer of providing a high similar to marijuana, police said.

"The people who are using this are putting their health, well-being 
and life in a complete stranger's hands," Nechodom said. "Depending 
on who made the chemical compound that is eventually used as the 
active ingredient, they're having faith that this stuff is similar to 
what they used the last time that didn't kill them."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom