MALONE — A state mandate has extended drug-testing to four strains of synthetic narcotics.
The Franklin County Legislature passed a resolution on Thursday to amend the Zero Tolerance Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy for the county Transportation Department. County officials stated that a state mandate updated the policy, with local governments being required to keep pace.
The resolution also amended the policy by noting that the transportation coordinator position was required to undergo drug testing.
Legislator Carl Sherwin, D-Malone, said after the vote that the amended policy added four strains of synthetic opioids to be included in drug tests.
Synthetic drugs have previously raised concern from local and county law enforcement, such as synthetic marijuana or cannabinoids.
Unlike organic marijuana, which is harvested from the cannabis plant, synthetic marijuana is created through a combination of substances that mimic THC, marijuana’s active ingredient.
Synthetic cannabinoids were first developed in the 1990s, identified by different informal names such as Spice or K2.
Symptoms of the synthetic variety are markedly different from organic marijuana; users of synthetic cannabinoids often experience symptoms such as anxiety and agitation, nausea, high blood pressure, seizures and hallucinations. Some incidents have been reported in which users engage in violent actions while under the influence.
New York state has banned synthetic cannabinoids since 2012.
In 2015, a Malone resident was arrested by village police for possession of 40 packets of synthetic marijuana and state police have made a number of arrests for possession of synthetic marijuana — listed as a violation of the state sanitary code — at the prisons in the town of Malone.
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