Earlier this month, the Berlin City Council adopted a ban on synthetic marijuana. Now Littleton is considering the same thing, but it has decided to let voters decide..
The ordinance will go on the ballot because there’s a controversy in town about a ban, says Milton Bratz, the chairman of the select board.
"There is some pushback, I believe, from merchants, or some concern voiced, regarding banning a product. It is not that anyone is in agreement that people should be getting high on this. But in point of fact it is a ban on a product that may not be illegal.”
Neither the state nor the federal government has banned spice.
On a two-one vote the Select Board will recommend passage of the ordinance. The six-page ordinance would ban the possession or sale of “synthetic cannabinoids” that use any of a wide range of chemicals.
It was proposed by the Littleton police and is similar to the ordinance passed in Berlin, Manchester and Laconia. In Berlin one lawyer told the City Council he thought the ordinance was too broad and would not survive a legal challenge.