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A RESOLUTION
21-141
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 30, 2015
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend section 47-2844 of the District of Columbia Official Code to enable the Mayor to suspend or revoke the business license of any business engaged in the buying or selling of a synthetic drug and to enable the Chief of Police to seal a business licensee’s premises for up to 96 hours for the buying or selling of a synthetic drug; and to amend the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985 to designate the sale of a synthetic drug as a per se imminent danger to the health or safety of District residents and provide for an administrative hearing after the sealing of a business licensee’s premises.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Sale of Synthetic Drugs Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015”.
Sec. 2. (a) The sale of prohibited synthetic drugs in the District of Columbia has continued despite enforcement by multiple District agencies. Prohibited synthetic drugs have the potential for life-threatening harm of users, and users in the District and nationwide have experienced severe health consequences for their use.
(b) Enactment of the Sale of Synthetic Drugs Emergency Amendment Act of 2015, passed on emergency basis on June 30, 2015 (Enrolled version of Bill 21-259), will enable the District to immediately seal the premises of, or levy a fine against, a business engaging in the sale of synthetic drugs, which presents an imminent health, safety, and welfare risk to the residents of the District.
(c) Determination of whether a product is a “synthetic drug” would be based on a number of factors, including:
(1) The product is not suitable for its marketed use (such as powders being marketed as “glass cleaner”);
(2) The business selling the product does not sell the products used for the product’s marketed use (such as a liquor store selling “plant food”);
(3) The product contains labeling not typically found on products used for its marketed use (such as “Not for human consumption,” “100% legal,” “Must be 18 years or older to purchase”);
(4) The product is significantly more expensive than products used for its marketed use or resembles an illegal drug; or
(5) The business or any of its employees was warned by a District government agency that a product it was selling was a synthetic drug.
(d) The proposed legislation would allow the District to seal the premises of an offending business, issue heavy fines, and require an administrative hearing within a few days of the event. Because violators of this increased enforcement scheme would face significant financial penalties, it may dissuade other businesses from engaging in the same prohibited behavior.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Sale of Synthetic Drugs Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
