Nov. 29, 2011 —
It soon will be illegal to have synthetic drugs in Rowan County.
Ordinance 18-11 passed on second reading Monday at Rowan Fiscal Court, making the sale, possession and distribution of synthetic marijuana, bath salts and other similarly marketed drugs a Class A misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $500 fine.
“The ordinance is effective Dec. 6,” said County Attorney Cecil Watkins during the well-attended special meeting.
The ordinance passed unanimously and was applauded by the full room of spectators, most from the county schools, who turned out to show support.
“We are here to show the full support of the school board for this ordinance,” said Supt. Marvin Moore.
“About three weeks ago, we could have lost three of our students to this stuff. No one knows what’s in it and it’s dangerous,” Moore added.
The school board recently adopted a policy to ban the substances from school property after three high school students reportedly got sick after smoking synthetic marijuana.
The synthetic drugs are known to be sold at Eagle Travel Plaza on KY 801 North and there are unconfirmed reports that it’s also sold at gas stations elsewhere in the county.
Watkins praised Drug Free Communities Coordinator Dana Quesinberry, Deputy Sheriff and school resource officer Mark Padgett and Juvenile Court designated worker Marilyn Slone for their research and efforts to draft the ordinance.
“They’ve put forth tremendous effort toward this,” he said. “Quite honestly, they did most of the legwork on this while I was tied up with other duties for the county.”
Rowan Judge-Executive Jim Nickell said passing the ordinance was only a beginning.
“This is the easy part,” Nickell said.
“The hard part is enforcing the ordinance. That’s where we will need help from the public. We are asking them to report to local law enforcement if they see these products being sold in the county.”
In other business, on a motion offered by Magistrate Ray White and seconded by Magistrate Harry Clark, Neace Lukens will now be the agent of record for health insurance for the Rowan Fiscal Court. Nickell and Magistrate Troy Perkins voted “no” on the motion.
“It’s nothing against you personally,” Nickell told Neace Lukens representative Jed Kerkhoff, “I’m just totally local when possible.”
Perkins said he also wanted to go with the local representative and expressed concern that the rates quoted by Kerkhoff could change from year to year.
“Companies will do a lot to get their foot in the door but what about down the road?” Perkins asked.
The Court received two proposals, one from Neace Lukens and another from hometown insurance broker Paul Richardson.
White is chair of the insurance committee, and said he recognized the importance of using local businesses but said the anticipated $25,000 cost savings projected by Neace Lukens should not be overlooked.
“I understand the local argument but in the bigger scheme of things we have to be mindful of how we are spending public tax dollars,” said White.
He also said that since the insurance bid was now reviewed annually, that the Court could revisit the issue next year.
The Fiscal Court amended the county administrative code to reflect that employee drug testing is now done at St. Claire Regional Medical Center instead of the county health department as in years past.
The Court also changed the regular monthly meeting time from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Noelle Hunter can be reached at nhunter@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
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