Students at Tennessee High School in Bristol witnessed synthetic drug history in the Volunteer State on Monday as Governor Bill Haslam signed the synthetic drug bills into law. “It was becoming too common up here [in the Tri-Cities],” he said. “It’s a problem all over the state but it was a little more serious of an issue here.”
It was so serious that lawmakers made it a felony to possess or distribute the deadly designer synthetic drugs known bath salts and K2 with the use of three bills. “Signing these bills will save lives,” said Representative Tony Shipley.
Two of the bills were sponsored by local representatives including Shipley, from Kingsport, and John Lundberg, from Bristol. "What brought this to a head were fatalities. Kids were dying. There was a lot of conversation about what was going on at the hospitals,” Shipley said.
There was even more conversation in the communities. Those conversations were head on Capitol Hill, according to Haslam. "People in communities decide what's best for their community, then they come to government and we try to figure out how to solve a real problem,” he said. "This was a great example of how democracy should work. You had local people saying enough! We're not going to take this in our community anymore.”
Haslam said it took legislatures time to make sure there were no loopholes in the new laws, which was a problem with the previous ban. "If there's a problem, it's a problem because people have figured out how to get around the law. In this case, people were dodging the law with synthetic drugs that mimic illegal substances,” he said.
Offenders of these new bills could face one to 12 years behind bars, according to Sullivan County District Attorney Barry Staubus. These penalties are a good thing according to some students at Tennessee High School. "I think it's cool they passed the bill at our school and now everyone is more aware of it and how bad it is. I'm glad there's a bill passed that makes it illegal,” said Samantha Gudger, a sophomore. "It’s good because bath salts were becoming so bad around here. It's good they passed a law about it,” said Andrew Mills, a sophomore.
Haslam explained the synthetic drug problem got worse in East Tennessee after Virginia passed their blanket ban. Now, he’s warning other states in the area that don’t have laws that outlaw synthetics. "The bad guys don't go away, they go somewhere else. I think the warning would be we're hopefully going to chase them out of Tennessee so if you're a neighboring state, you might want to think of something similar for yourself,” he said.
Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey also spoke out about Haslam’s bill signing at Tennessee High School. "These bills draw a line in the sand in the battle against synthetic drugs. No longer will criminal chemists be allowed to move a molecule a two to escape prosecution for poisoning children,” he said. “This legislation will keep the law ahead of the pushers and drugs out of the hands of our kids. I was proud to be on hand as this landmark legislation was signed into law."
Haslam signed all three pieces of legislation in the beginning of the month. Lundberg’s bill is already in effect. Shipley’s bill started Monday, May 14. Middle Tennessee Representative Ryan William’s bill begins July 1, 2012.
By Megan Gorey - WCYB - News 5
