CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan earlier this month signed Senate Bill 106, restricting the sale or possession of synthetic drugs.
These substances are often sold at gas stations and convenience stores under street names including K2, Spice and "legal marijuana." The packages can also be sold as "incense" or "potpourri." The products contain dried, shredded plant material onto which chemicals are sprayed.
“Synthetic drugs pose a serious threat to public health, especially to our young people, as we saw last year with at least 44 overdoses in a period of 72 hours that led to my executive order declaring a state of emergency, and they are part of the larger substance misuse challenge facing our state,” Hassan said. “By restricting the sale or possession of these dangerous substances, Senate Bill 106 builds on our multi-pronged approach to addressing substance misuse, which also includes increasing access to treatment services through our bipartisan health care expansion plan and increasing the safe and effective use of Narcan.”
Narcan is the trade name for Naloxone, which helps to reduce the effects and withdrawal symptoms of certain kinds of medications.
She added, “I appreciate the efforts of the attorney general, members of law enforcement, the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment & Recovery, [State] Senator [Molly] Kelly and the legislature to protect public health and safety, and I am glad to sign this measure into law.”
In August 2014, Hassan declared a state of emergency as a result of recent overdoses in Manchester and Concord, N.H., as a result of the use or misuse of the synthetic cannabinoid identified as Smacked, which has been sold illegally in convenience stores.
The declaration triggered state Department of Health & Human Services public health powers to investigate, isolate or quarantine and require the destruction of the commodity in question.
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