State A.G. targeting bath salt sellers

CHITTENANGO -- Committed to being a catalyst to stopping the epidemic of synthetic drug use, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Ed Thompson said the Attorney General will continue to crack down on bath salt merchants by taking civil action under consumer laws.

A recent bust of head shops across the state by the Attorney General’s Office froze the sale of dangerous synthetic drugs, like bath salts, because of the products don’t comply with consumer laws that require products to have labels clearly identifying their purpose and ingredients.

At an informational meeting at the Sullivan Free Library Thursday afternoon, Thompson said that trend in enforcement may continue.

“To the extent that we have jurisdiction, we will do whatever we can to do our part to protect the people of this state,” he said. “This really is the beginning for us. We’re willing to invest all our resources to do whatever we can.”

Now that the federal government has become involved in trying to stop the sale and use of synthetic drugs, Thompson said it’s critical that all agencies work together. While the state and federal governments haven’t criminalized possession of synthetic drugs, Thompson said users can still be prosecuted for their actions while high on drugs; voluntary intoxication is not a valid legal defense that’s recognized in New York.

The bigger goal is preventing people from gaining access to the drugs, he said. Using consumer, educational and health laws, the Attorney General’s Office is able to take civil action against establishments that sell products in violation of those laws.

“This is a way to use the consumer laws that are already on the

books to deal with a problem that, so far, the government has had a hard time addressing,” he said.

By using consumer laws, the ability for manufacturers to tweak the drug’s ingredients to skirt current laws is irrelevant, he said. In order to sell products within the guidelines of consumer laws, Thompson said, they must specifically identify what is in the product, who manufactured it and what its ingredients are.

Establishments that the Attorney General’s Office has found to be selling synthetic drugs that don’t follow those requirements were slapped with a temporary restraining order against selling them. Ultimately, the products will be taken off the shelves and destroyed. The businesses can be fined, ordered to pay restitution and even shut down.

During the months of investigations leading up to this week’s bust, Thompson said undercover agents who purchased products at the head shops were often instructed by the store’s clerks on how to use the products and what effects they would expect from taking the drugs.

Thompson said his agency will continue to do whatever it can while the federal and state governments work on a more comprehensive plan for getting the drugs off the street but was wary of offering details on the specific strategies that might be used.