By Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE —
A bill passed by the State Legislature during its recent special session to make illegal the sale or possession of an incense product that can cause a high similar to marijuana has been signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour.
The new state law will take precedence over county and municipal ordinances passed in recent months to restrict the sale or possession of the substance.
According to an e-mail response received Aug. 30, from Attorney General Public Information Officer Jan Schaefer, the bill sent to the governor’s office for approval would supersede county and municipal ordinances once it had the governor’s signature.
County and local municipal laws, passed by the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors and Poplarville’s Board of Alderman, state that sale of the substances labeled as incense, but used as marijuana is illegal. Now that the governor has signed the bills, Senate Bill 2004 and House Bills 8, 2 and 3, there is a state law in effect.
The substances carry brand names such as Mojo, Spice or K2. They contain a warning that state they are not for human consumption, but when smoked like marijuana, they cause a “high” similar to that of marijuana due to chemicals that have been sprayed on the substance.
The new law has made the sale of such substances immediately illegal. According to an Associated Press story, retailers must stop selling the substances immediately and have until Oct. 1, to either return the product to distributors or turn them over to local law enforcement agencies.
Penalties set forth in the Pearl River County ordinance included a fine of $1,000 and/or six months in jail.
However the state law sets forth penalties of a $3,000 fine or up to three years in jail. Now that the bill has been signed, the state law will nullify county and municipal ordinances.
