08-14-17 Health and Public Safety

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Soil if ft g� 0 . F U d W rEnCE �le ■ 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK HEALTH &PUBLIC SAFETY AUGUST 14, 2017 3:45 P.M. Committee Members Present: John Voorde, Karen White, Oliver Davis Committee Members Absent: Jo M. Broden Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Dr. David Varner, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, Randy Kelly Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Bob Palmer, Graham Sparks Presenters: Karen White, Tim Scott, Scott Ruszkowski Agenda: Substitute Bill No. 46-17—Synthetic Marijuana Ordinance Committee Vice Chair John Voorde called to order the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 3:47 p.m. He introduced members of the committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters of the legislation. Substitute Bill No. 46-17— Svnthetic Marijuana Ordinance Councilmember Karen White stated, We are very happy to bring this before the Committee and the Council. This grew out of a concern as a number of City employees witnessed first-hand in January 2017 three (3) young men that appeared to be under the influence of these synthetic substances and, had the employees not been there,the outcome would have probably been much different. At that time, the Chief of Police met with community individuals and he shared his concerns about the increase of synthetics drugs. He discussed the impact it had not only on the police force, but also on the public health community. A number of individuals became involved. We've looked at a number of ways to expand the scope of the disorderly house ordinance. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, There have been many people involved with this and I thank everyone. What is hard about this is this stuff keeps changing to get around the law. The problem is this is devastating to our community. People think this is something that isn't illegal but it affects us and them in so many different ways. It also affects people of all different ages. This ordinance helps with the awareness within the community and it is time we put this on the books. We've learned a lot about this we look forward to tackling this issue. 455 County-City Building-227 W.Jefferson Boulevard-South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567-www.SouthBendIN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS