Brewton City Councilmen are working on creating an ordinance that would ban the sale of synthetic substances, also known as synthetic marijuana, throughout the Brewton area.
Councilman Dennis Dunaway publicly issued a request to business owners to end the sale of the products in their stores.
“This is a serious situation in our town,” Dunaway said. “These substances have serious consequences and have violated our quality of life.”
Dunaway said he hopes that business owners will take the initiative to remove the substances from their shelves.
“These businesses that are selling these products cause harm to our citizens,” Dunaway said. “We are working on an ordinance that would prohibit the sale and use of these substances.”
Brewton Police Chief Monte McGougin said the potential problems caused by the sale and use of the substances are plentiful.
A two-vehicle accident involving a teen driver occurred two weeks ago in Brewton. Although none of those involved in the accident were seriously injured, the driver did admit to having used one of the substances the city is hoping to ban. “I’ve only run into someone using the substance once,” McGougin said. “You can find it just about anywhere. It has the potential to be a very harmful substance. We absolutely don’t need that here.”
The council is working on to create and pass an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of substances sold under as many as 120 different names or brands.
Some of the most widely known names include Spice, Xtreme Spice, Black Magic Salvia, Voodoo Child and others.
“These substances were banned before, but what the manufacturer did was re-make them taking out enough ingredients to make it legal and put it right back on the shelf,” McGougin said.