Hartsville moves to ban bath salts
By JIM FAILE
Hartsville City Council gave unanimous preliminary approval to a proposed ordinance to prohibit the sale and possession of bath salts in the city limits.
The vote came during council’s regular monthly meeting Tuesday night and followed a report to council from City Manager Natalie Zeigler on bath salts – synthetic stimulants and cannabinoids intended to replicate or cause a similar reaction to the effects of cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and marijuana and which can be sold legally in retail outlets in South Carolina.
Unlike an emergency ordinance adopted by Darlington County Council earlier this month, the city’s ordinance does not criminalize the sale or possession of bath salts. Rather, it calls for civil penalties, including a $25 fine for a violation, and also includes a provision for the revocation of the business license of any business with three violations.
City attorney Marty Driggers said council does not have the legal authority to criminalize bath salts because the state does not do so. “We cannot make something a crime that the state has not already made a crime,” Driggers said.
The county’s ordinance imposes a fine of up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail for violations, and sheriff’s deputies have made at least one arrest under the ordinance so far.
But Driggers said other municipal attorneys with whom he has talked agreed that local ordinances that seek to criminalize the sale of possession of bath salts will likely not stand up if they are challenged in court.
Driggers initially recommended that council take no action on an ordinance but wait until the S.C. General Assembly returns to session in January to see if lawmakers address the issue.
But he said if council wanted to adopt an ordinance, it should adopt a model recommended by the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC). He said the ordinance is similar to one adopted by the city of Florence.
According to Driggers, the MASC is recommending that municipalities treat any bans on bath salts similar to bans on smoking with civil penalties rather than criminal penalties.
“If you want to do something, then I would recommend passing the MASC model,” he said.
Driggers said police can issue citations for violations but cannot make arrests or incarcerate violators.
City officials had been waiting to see what kind of regulations the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will issue in its emergency order to control three types of synthetic stimulants, Zeigler said. But she told council that as of Tuesday, the agency’s final order still had not been filed in the Federal Register.
Zeigler said the city had three options it could consider: waiting for the DEA to act, waiting for the Legislature to act or adopting a city ordinance to ban the substances.
Council amended its agenda to get the ordinance to a vote on first reading.
Driggers said the measure will require two readings to enact it, unlike the county’s emergency ordinance which required only one reading. The city’s ordinance is not an emergency ordinance so it requires two readings like all other city ordinances, Zeigler said.
Zeigler said she anticipates council will schedule a special meeting for a public hearing and final action on second reading before its regular November meeting.