Kimball City Attorney and Marion County Attorney Billy GougerKIMBALL, Tenn. — To combat the growing problem of synthetic drugs, city leaders are in the process of approving a city ordinance that would outlaw the drugs’ possession, sale and delivery.
On Thursday, the Kimball Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved the ordinance on first reading.
Kimball Attorney Billy Gouger said convenience stores and small grocery stores have been marketing the synthetic drug products, which may mimic the effects of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine, in the past few years.
“The state law, up until about a year ago, didn’t really address that,” he said. “Scientists and chemists were creating artificial drugs and substances that really weren’t outlawed by Tennessee state law.”
There are now state laws in place to address synthetic drugs, Gouger said, but Kimball’s ordinance will give the town “an additional level of control” over the problem.