Daily Dose: Crackdown on Synthetic "Bath Salt" Drugs

Events

@ Expressions Dance Studio

Mission Trails Visit

Santee Patch is meeting with the Executive Director of Mission Trails today. If you have anything you'd like to know about the huge urban park in your backyard, post it as a comment and I'll ask him about it.

Countywide crackdown on synthetic designer drugs

San Diego County's district attorney and sheriff announced Tuesday that letters are being sent to nearly 100 businesses, warning of criminal or civil penalties if they ignore a new state law banning the sale of synthetic drugs, including an increasingly popular and dangerous drug known as "bath salts."

"We're taking this action to let businesses know about the new law and penalties they could face," District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. "More importantly, we want to be proactive to let San Diegans know how dangerous these drugs can be. "Bath salts' in particular have been linked to an alarming number of calls to poison control centers and scary emergency room visits."

The first wave of letters was mailed today to mini-marts, convenience stores and other businesses that have been known to sell "bath salts," according to Dumanis and Sheriff Bill Gore.

The letters inform store owners about the new law and explain that failure to comply could result in criminal prosecution or a civil enforcement action. Potential sanctions include fines and imprisonment or permanent injunctions and substantial civil penalties.

AB 486, authored by Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, went into effect last Oct. 9, making it illegal to sell, dispense, distribute, furnish, administer or possess for sale synthetic stimulants known as "bath salts."

-City News Service

Gas Prices

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego County rose Wednesday for the seventh consecutive day, increasing four-tenths of a cent to $3.779, its highest amount since Nov. 19.

The average price is 4.2 cents more than one week ago, 12.8 cents higher than one month ago and 43.9 cents greater than a year ago, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service.

The price of a barrel of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 76 cents Tuesday to $99.24.

Crude oil costs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of the price of a gallon of gasoline, according to Tupper Hull of the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade association representing oil companies in six western states.

-City News Service

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