26-ILLEGAL SMOKING PRODUCTS AND RELATED PARAPHERNALIA BUSINESS

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Draft ORDINANCE N0. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ISSUING A SIX MONTH MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY FOR HEAD SHOPS, SMOKE SHOPS, DRUG PARAPHERNELIA SHOPS OR RELATED BUSINESSES LOCATED WITHIN THE CORPORATE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER, POLICE CHIEF AND CITY ATTORNEY TO WORK WITH THE CITY BUILDING OFFICIAL AND THE ENGINEERING PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TOWARD DEVELOPING NEW REGULATIONS FOR HEADSHOPS, SMOKE SHOPS AND DRUG PARAPHERNELIA SHOPS TO BE PRESENTED TO T C~LAUSE, PROVIDING A PENALTY CLAUSE, SAVINGS CLAUSE, REPEALER SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Paris Police Department duin1 ast two hyears tryingt o keepl up enforcement agencies have been challeng g the with the dramatic rise in the sale and use of synthetic drugs in the City of Paris and surrounding communities; and WHEREAS, local law enforcement has watched in frustration as local head shops, smoke shops and certain convenience stores have displayed and sold various synthetic drugs (such as synthetic cannabinoids known as "K2" or "K Spice" and synthetic methamphetamine known as "Bath Salts", "White Angel" and "V"); and WHEREAS, the state legislature has now added some of these synthetic drugs to their growing list of controlled substances, but law enforcement has found that the synthetic drug producers are changing the chemical makeup of the new drugs just enough to get around state law; and WHEREAS, during the last twelve months, the Paris Police Department and Paris Emergency Medical Services have observeoerdoes r or adverse medilcal rea tions lrelated children being treated and hospitalized for to the use of synthetic drugs; and WHEREAS, investigation into th the s h tic drugs locally; ands has shown t ha t i n s e v e r a l i n s t a n c e s, t h e s e p e o p l e obtaned Yn WHEREAS, under current zoning regulations head shops, smoke shops and drug paraphernalia shops are not identified "uses," therefore these shops may locate anywhere in the City that allows retail sales; and, WHEREAS, the Paris Police Depalam ke t to along stdW s zon n g ng a d developmen City' Department and Legal Department wou Y the regulations and communicate with other state and local agencies to develop new methods or approaches for regulating head shops, smoke shops and drug paraphernalia shops to better protect the health and safety of the citizens residing in the City of Paris. 1r'11