poledriver
Bluelighter
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USA - ‘Spice’ ban thrills Frederick merchants
A new day dawned Friday on Market Street for shopkeepers near a former "Spice" retailer whose supply was gone.
"Things are fantastic," said Maryjean Clark, who owns Voila tea shop.
Until Thursday, a glass case inside Classic Cigars & British Goodies, next door to Voila, legally displayed Scooby Snax potpourri and other products labeled not for human consumption, but which people have used like marijuana.
On Friday, the case was empty.
So was the sidewalk in front of Classic Cigars, where, Clark said, every morning half a dozen people would wait to buy such products.
The city passed an ordinance Thursday making the sale and possession of the synthetic marijuana illegal. When Clark came to open her shop Friday, she saw a refreshing change: "There were no drug addicts waiting outside," she said.
"This is so cool," said Tom England, who owns the Dancing Bear toy store. "There's no drama going on."
Typically, 10 to 15 people would be in front of Classic Cigars each morning, he and Clark said. The situation started about eight months ago, when Classic Cigars started selling the synthetic drugs.
Until then, Clark felt safe even late at night at her shop. But Spice attracted both a hometown crowd and out-of-town drivers who parked illegally. It changed her comfort level and the atmosphere around her store, she said.
"There were some really scary characters," she said. "I would have to clean up clothes, trash, vomit."
"It was a serious public health issue," England said.
Police and medical professionals said they cannot treat users of the drugs adequately because they do not know what is in the products they consume.
"I witnessed people vomit in the street," Clark said.
Police responded to all her calls for service dealing with unwelcome crowds, Clark said, but there was little they could do to stop the problem at its apparent source.
England said he knows Classic Cigars was not breaking a law, but attracting children to the hazardous products went beyond legality for him.
"As a parent and as a human being," he said, "I found it deplorable."
After the ordinance was passed Thursday, Clark said, she returned to her shop to do some work and saw crowds flocking to Classic Cigars, buying up discounted Spice.
"Droves of people ... cars were pulling up," she said.
Sgt. Wade Brown went shop to shop Friday to let businesses know about the law before police started to press criminal misdemeanor charges. In addition to the maximum punishment of a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail, retailers could lose licenses to sell lottery tickets, liquor and tobacco. Arrests will come later, Capt. Thomas Ledwell told the Board of Aldermen on Thursday.
"Hopefully, this is going to make a difference," Brown said.
"We have already noticed a difference," England said. "It's back to the way it always has been.
"That was a really tough time," he said. "I hope this is the end."
http://mobile.fredericknewspost.com/displayNews.htm?storyID=142856&IX=0
A new day dawned Friday on Market Street for shopkeepers near a former "Spice" retailer whose supply was gone.
"Things are fantastic," said Maryjean Clark, who owns Voila tea shop.
Until Thursday, a glass case inside Classic Cigars & British Goodies, next door to Voila, legally displayed Scooby Snax potpourri and other products labeled not for human consumption, but which people have used like marijuana.
On Friday, the case was empty.
So was the sidewalk in front of Classic Cigars, where, Clark said, every morning half a dozen people would wait to buy such products.
The city passed an ordinance Thursday making the sale and possession of the synthetic marijuana illegal. When Clark came to open her shop Friday, she saw a refreshing change: "There were no drug addicts waiting outside," she said.
"This is so cool," said Tom England, who owns the Dancing Bear toy store. "There's no drama going on."
Typically, 10 to 15 people would be in front of Classic Cigars each morning, he and Clark said. The situation started about eight months ago, when Classic Cigars started selling the synthetic drugs.
Until then, Clark felt safe even late at night at her shop. But Spice attracted both a hometown crowd and out-of-town drivers who parked illegally. It changed her comfort level and the atmosphere around her store, she said.
"There were some really scary characters," she said. "I would have to clean up clothes, trash, vomit."
"It was a serious public health issue," England said.
Police and medical professionals said they cannot treat users of the drugs adequately because they do not know what is in the products they consume.
"I witnessed people vomit in the street," Clark said.
Police responded to all her calls for service dealing with unwelcome crowds, Clark said, but there was little they could do to stop the problem at its apparent source.
England said he knows Classic Cigars was not breaking a law, but attracting children to the hazardous products went beyond legality for him.
"As a parent and as a human being," he said, "I found it deplorable."
After the ordinance was passed Thursday, Clark said, she returned to her shop to do some work and saw crowds flocking to Classic Cigars, buying up discounted Spice.
"Droves of people ... cars were pulling up," she said.
Sgt. Wade Brown went shop to shop Friday to let businesses know about the law before police started to press criminal misdemeanor charges. In addition to the maximum punishment of a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail, retailers could lose licenses to sell lottery tickets, liquor and tobacco. Arrests will come later, Capt. Thomas Ledwell told the Board of Aldermen on Thursday.
"Hopefully, this is going to make a difference," Brown said.
"We have already noticed a difference," England said. "It's back to the way it always has been.
"That was a really tough time," he said. "I hope this is the end."
http://mobile.fredericknewspost.com/displayNews.htm?storyID=142856&IX=0
