by News-item staff
SUNBURY - A drug raid on a Sunbury store revealed it was illegally selling bath salts, synthetic cannabis and other paraphernalia related to designer drugs, according to a media release from the Sunbury Police Department.
The sale of the substances violates a recent ordinance passed by Sunbury City Council that bans the sale, possession or delivery of designer drugs, including bath salts and synthetic marijuana, also known as "spice" and "K-2."
The Northumberland-Montour Counties Drug Task Force continued their investigation of the issue on Friday, May 6, and obtained a search warrant for Penn Jersey Mart, 209 N. Fourth St., Sunbury.
Discovered were 10 containers of Tranquility Bath Salts, six containers of Manhattan SPice, Cobra King Gold Spice and Manhattan Spice Dynamite, 55 packets of Down to Earth Climaxxx "Purple Chronic" and records of these sales.
Also found were 63 glass smoking pipes, 36 keychain pipes, Hookah Smoking Devices, two glass water smoking pipes, 26 multi-colored glass pipes, four boxed Hookah smoking devices, metal measuring scales, 13 metal grinding devices, seven metal grinding devices, 15 wooden smoking pipes, seven digital measuring scales, 62 bags containing smaller plastic bags for delivery and 40 glass smoking stems.
The investigation of the task force are continuing.
Participating police officers were from the Sunbury Police Department and Mount Carmel Police Department.
Investigating task force officers will meet within the next several weeks from District Attorney Tony Rosini's office. Any pending charges will be issues at a later date.
Mount Carmel Township, who was the first municipality in Northumberland County to enact the designer drug ordinance, had a similar violation with Choice Cigarette Discount Outlet in Atlas, near the Mount Carmel Viaduct. The board of supervisor passed the ordinance on March 25 and the store was warned to not sell the substances anymore. A search of the store a month later revealed they were still selling the products.
Earlier this month, Northumberland County President Judge Robert B. Sacavage, District Attorney Tony Rosini and newly-appointed Drug and Alcohol Administrator Glenda Bonetti urged county commissioners to a send a letter to state legislators to have legislation passed as soon as possible that will make it illegal to sell, use or possess bath salts and similar substances that cause bizarre behavior, including paranoia and hallucinations.
The bill passed in the state House of Representatives and is in the state Senate currently.
Many other municipalities in the county are modeling their ordinances after Mount Carmel Township.