After an outbreak of Spice poisonings in August on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, where 52 people were hospitalized in less than a week, Gov. Jerry Brown has just signed new legislation outlawing possession of the synthetic cannabinoid. The first offense is only an infraction, but a second or third offense can result in misdemeanors.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued warnings about the Spice poisonings to health care professionals in August, but that hasn’t stopped Skid Row residents in downtown LA from using the synthetic cannabinoid.

“These synthetic drugs are a uniquely dangerous threat to public safety,” Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) said to her colleagues before Senate Bill 139 was voted in unanimously, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The measure was supported by multiple law enforcement groups including the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the California Police Chiefs Association and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Alliance opposed the bill. Selling Spice is already illegal.  

“[This law] is very important because young people believe that if a drug is not illegal, it is okay and that it is safe,” Galgiani said. “But underground chemists manufacture these drugs in warehouses and then market them to kids as being legal when in fact they are more dangerous.”

Unlike cannabis, Spice is made by spraying research chemicals onto dried plant matter. It is known for leading to unpredictable behavior and sometimes life-threatening side effects.

“This drug is extremely harmful, and not much is known about what goes into making Spice,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in an alert issued in August. “While no deaths have been reported from this recent outbreak of ‘Spice’ toxicity, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is concerned about further health impacts of this drug in communities across the county. The patients reportedly exhibited symptoms of altered mental status, ataxia, and decreased consciousness, consistent with a sympathomimetic toxidrome.”

Homeless city inhabitants have been preyed upon by dealers who sell Spice joints for $1 under street names like K2, Scooby Snax and Black Magic, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Blue flyers have been passed out on Skid Row reading: “Synthetic marijuana can kill. All batches aren’t the same! The high isn’t worth it.”

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