Kelly said law enforcement officers plan to inspect these businesses. “Any person that is caught selling or trafficking in (bath salts), will certainly be charged and prosecuted under this new law, he said.”
On Monday, the day the ban on sales of bath salts went into effect, undercover Clark County Sheriff’s officials entered seven convenience stores around the county and attempted to purchase the drugs. None of the stores sold to the officials.
“I think it’s been a very positive step in the right direction that we did a test of compliance at seven different locations where we have had reports that people had made purchases and all seven locations said that they did not have it, didn’t have it to sell,” Kelly said. “And at this last location, the clerk actually said that ‘today’s the day, they can’t sell it, it’s illegal.’ ”
Bryan Bucklew, president of the hospital association, said, “Right now the law is that if you possess bath salts, it’s a (minor) misdemeanor and if you are trafficking in bath salts, it’s a (fifth-degree) felony.”
The task force was formed after the association began receiving reports from rural hospitals in the area about a rising number of bath salts incidents in their emergency rooms, Bucklew said.
The main focus of the task force is to educate the public on the dangers of the bath salts and to assist emergency crews on how to identify, treat and handle people under the influence of the bath salts.
The other focus is to identify new drugs coming onto the market that specifically get around the bath salt ban, Bucklew said.
The task force includes officers and emergency personnel from Montgomery, Clark and Darke counties.
It also includes representatives from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, hospitals in Montgomery County, the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab and other departments in Montgomery and Darke counties.
There have been more than 500 bath salts-related hospital cases in the association’s 10-county region.
Of the 27 bath salts-related cases that have come through the regional crime lab or the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, 12 have been fatalities, according to the coroner, Dr. Kent Harshbarger.
“What we found out is that most of the incidents revolving around bath salts and the influence of bath salts have occurred in the rural and suburban areas and less in the urban areas,” Bucklew said.
All of those 27 cases have involved Caucasians ages 19 to 51, according to the hospital association.
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