Officials in Pottsville are moving forward with a plan to ban so-called “gas station drugs” from stores in the city.
On Monday, council members had a first reading of an ordiance that would make it illegal to sell certain drugs that are commonly found at gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores. It would also be illegal to give them away, help someone get them, or make them anywhere in the city. The rule would apply to anyone, whether it’s a person, a store, or a distributor.
A second reading of the ordinance, passing it into law, could come as early as next month.
The products this ordinance covers include synthetic marijuana such as K2 and Spice, “bath salts,” and tianeptine, which is sometimes called “gas station heroin.” It also covers kratom in every form, including the natural leaf powder, along with stronger lab-made kratom products such as 7-OH.
Lab-made THC products made from hemp, such as delta-8 and delta-10, are covered too, as is phenibut. Nitrous oxide is included when it’s sold to be inhaled to get high (aka whippets). The ban applies to these products when they are meant for people to eat, drink, swallow or inhale.
The city says it wants the ban because it has seen more emergency room visits, impaired driving and people mixing drugs, all tied to these products. It also says many of these products are now sold in stronger, altered forms that raise the risk of addiction.
Councilman Scott Price says his push on Pottsville’s ordinance began with him identifying “gateways” and teenagers having access to substances that were technically legal and available in stores.
“I think we have a really bad drug epidemic in Pottsville and these play a part in it,” Price says. “The synthetic stuff is killing our youth.”
The ordinance does not make it illegal to have or use these products. It targets selling, sharing, making, and producing them. There’s an exception for making these substances for legitimate research, teaching, or lab testing, as long as they aren’t sold.
Violations of the ordinance are a summary offense and a person or business could be fined up to $300 for each offense or jailed for up to 90 days for each offense.
“This is really in the best interest of public safety,” Price adds. It’s trying to tackle the drug and addiction epidemic, to prevent people from getting hooked on them. This is not a policy to punish people. This is a policy to try and take the source of a lot of problems out of the equation. And if we can do that, we can begin to get a lot of these people help.”
Pottsville Solicitor Gretchen Sterns says, before the second reading of the ordiance and its potential passage, she’s going to share it with police and Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake for review and additional comment.
“I want to be sure we’re being as comprehensive as possible as well as being respectful of what is in state law” she said.
Pottsville’s ordinance goes further than a kratom bill that passed the state House earlier this month.
House Bill 2657, sponsored by state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski of Lackawanna County, passed the House 202-0 on Oct. 5. State Rep. Joanne Stehr, who represents part of Schuylkill County, is one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
The state bill only deals with kratom. It would ban the sale of synthetic and lab-made kratom products, including those with high levels of 7-OH. It would still let stores sell natural kratom leaf to adults 21 and older. Those stores would have to register with the state, check IDs, use child-resistant packaging and carry a label warning that kratom may cause dependence and opioid-like withdrawal. Natural kratom would also carry a 12% tax.
Pottsville’s ordinance would ban all kratom, including the natural leaf. It also covers products the state bill doesn’t touch, like synthetic marijuana, bath salts, tianeptine, delta-8, phenibut and nitrous oxide.
The penalties are also very different. Under the state bill, knowingly selling synthetic kratom would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Breaking the rules for selling natural kratom could bring a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per offense, with each day counting as a separate offense. Pottsville’s ordinance tops out at $300 and 90 days per offense.
The state bill doesn’t say anything about municipalities passing their own bans. It would let local police and local governments help enforce it, and would let a municipality pull a business’s license or permit after a third violation.
The bill is now in the state Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee. It still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by the governor before the current legislative session ends to become law. If it does, its rules would take effect 180 days later.
If Pottsville’s ordinance passes a second reading, the City may give businesses “time to adjust” to the prohibition and phase out the sale of the products containing the substances.
“The shorter the warning …,” Price says, “I just want this junk gone.
“We can help people. We can prevent people from becoming addicted to things and we can hopefully start to give people a humane pathway back to being productive,” he adds.
Read the full ordinance from its first reading on Monday:
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...