Spice, an herb laced with a compound said to be 10 times more powerful than marijuana, is sold under various brand names, including K2.
"Though there are [image-nocss] no federal or state laws regulating spice, we believe it should be banned from store shelves for all retailers and voluntarily removed by any retailer selling it," said Brad Rider, chairman of the association's board.
The state association also randomly sampled its members, and the few that were selling spice will now discontinue all sales in their communities.
"We can only advise our members on best practices," said Rider. "But we can take the lead in educating all retailers about this potentially harmful product."
Rider, whose company United Package Liquors owns and operates package stores in Indiana and Kentucky, said his company has never sold the product.
The IABR board voted this month to support lawmakers, including Ron Alting and John Barnes, who have publicly stated they will be introducing bills to ban the substance and create penalties for both users and sellers.
Rider, who serves on an advisory legislative committee to Drug Free Marion County, said the association voted unanimously to support any new regulationswhether at the state or local level.
Though spice is an unregulated product that made its way to store shelves around the country, Rider said the association's partnership with Project RAD (Responsible Alcohol Distribution) and state and community groups brought this issue to the forefront. "Thanks to our partners in RAD, we're on top of the situation and have been keeping our package store members informed of the potential dangers to their customers," he said.
According to recent news reports, Boone, Knox , Vigo and Daviess counties have banned the sale of spice. Other communities are quickly following suit, the group said. Smoking spice has been linked to dangerous blood pressure levels, seizures and death.
IABR is a statewide membership group for package store owners licensed and regulated by the state of Indiana.
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