Indiana law enforcers plan new synthetic drugs push

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indianapolis police will hand-deliver warning letters to businesses that sell bath salts and other synthetic drugs, and retailers under investigation will be able to make a deal to skirt prosecution, law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said they've put retailers on notice about a tough new law targeting the sale and distribution of bath salts, spice and other synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of cocaine, other stimulants and marijuana.

Zoeller says his office, state police and other state agencies have issued a notice detailing penalties for violating the law, including the possible forfeiture of a business license for a year.

Zoeller is also asking retailers to sign a voluntary agreement not to sell synthetic drugs and to surrender any inventories they have in return for the closing of any pending investigations against them.

Curry says Indianapolis police will hand-deliver warning letters to retailers that sell the drugs.

"We are determined to put an end to the sale of synthetic drugs, and we will pursue all available remedies at our disposal including criminal prosecution," Curry said at a news conference.

While the packaging on synthetic drugs labels them as not for human consumption, they often are ingested, inhaled or injected. They cause dangerously high body temperatures, racing heart rates, high blood pressure and permanent organ damage. Authorities have said they can cause paranoia and hallucinations and have been linked with deaths and hundreds of calls to poison centers nationwide.

The new law, which took effect in March, added 60 chemical compounds to a law legislators passed last year that banned marijuana-like drugs known as spice or K2, including compounds that are derived from existing illegal drugs. The new law also gave the state pharmacy board the ability to declare that a substance is a synthetic drug so that variations in product formulas remain illegal.

Indianapolis attorney Mark Rutherford, who represents several outlets that sell herbal incense, said his clients want to comply with Indiana law but also need to know what's legal and illegal. They also want to be able to make a case before the pharmacy board for keeping some products legal.

"That's all we ask for, due process," Rutherford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"My clients are trying to sell products that are legal under Indiana law. ... A big, big problem for my clients who are trying to abide by Indiana law are those who don't," Rutherford said, referring to some outlets that knowingly sell illegal items. He said none of his clients sell bath salts.

Executive Director Scot Imus of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association said most members of the industry group don't sell the drugs, but the handful that do have tarnished the industry's image.

"I think it's a great idea," Imus said of the law enforcement steps in an interview.