Thurmont Police Praise Town Commissioners for Passing Spice Ban
By: Dawn White
Updated: October 24, 2012
THURMONT, MD - The Thurmont police chief is praising town commissioners for unanimously passing two ordinances Tuesday evening banning synthetic marijuana.
Thurmont is the first municipality in Frederick County, Maryland to ban making, selling, or possessing Spice or K2.
"I think this is a new tool for us, another avenue we can take, and hopefully it catches on through the state and through legislation that this is a serious thing, and we can't wait for the state to pass it through legislation. We've got to act on it right now," said Thurmont Police Chief Greg Eyler.
People can receive a $250 fine per day for breaking the ordinance.
"I think it's great that we took this step," Eyler said. "We're not looking for any kind of recognition. We want to protect our citizens here in town, and we want to get the drugs out of town, whether it's the synthetic drugs, or marijuana, meth, cocaine, everything."
Police can also use an administrative warrant to go into private properties and search for spice.
The chief says police will target businesses they believe are selling synthetic marijuana. Those businesses can get a $1,000 fine each day for not allowing police in with a warrant.
"If we don't act now and something happens to one of our citizens or somebody comes in and buys the synthetic drugs, if they die or get seriously ill, then I think it's our fault for not taking that step," Eyler said. "That's why I wanted to move forward with this, and I think we're doing the right thing."
The ordinances go into effect next Tuesday, October 30th.
