Springfield police chief says bath salts is the biggest drug problem in town

Bath salts, not heroin, are the biggest drug problem in town, Police Chief Douglas Johnston said Friday.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150418/NEWS02/704189933

Springfield police chief says bath salts is the biggest drug problem in town By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 18,2015 Len Emery Photo Police Chief Douglas Johnston, left, explains the fingerprint system and breath-test machine to Select Board members during a tour of the Springfield police station. SPRINGFIELD — Bath salts, not heroin, are the biggest drug problem in town, Police Chief Douglas Johnston said Friday. Johnston, giving four members of the Select Board a tour of the police department and an update on some of the department’s challenges, said the state’s laws are not strict enough to address bath salts. Johnston said possession of bath salts is a misdemeanor — regardless of the amount — and the Vermont Legislature appears unwilling to change that. “You could have a tractor-trailer load and it would still be a misdemeanor,” he said. Johnston said the effect of bath salts on users is unpredictable, with some people turning angry and violent. He told the board his department is called to the Springfield Hospital emergency room for overdoses, but only if the person is violent and hard to control. Otherwise, the department is not informed of drug overdoses, he said. Medical confidentiality is the reason, he said. Johnston said a lot of the new bath salts arriving in Vermont are stamped with Chinese characters and have came from China, one way or another. And he said the composition of bath salts is changing, making it difficult for laws to be written to address specific ingredients. Johnston said the effects of a drug sweep almost two years ago were mixed: Only those people charged in federal court are still in jail. Selectman Walter Martone, who was elected last month, had his first tour of the police station, which started many years ago as a car dealership and later became home to manufacturing companies, the last being Lucas Industries. The police department moved in after a $2.2 million renovation in late 2007. “This is a nice department,” said Town Manager Tom Yennerell, who said he’d visited the department before but hadn’t gotten such an extensive tour. Yennerell became town manager last November. Johnston said the building needs air conditioning for its computer room, since the computer equipment generates a lot of heat. He said he received one estimate for air conditioning in the small room, and decided that leaving the door open to the rest of the building would have to suffice in the short term. Johnston said the department still has two sergeant vacancies, even after promoting Detective Patrick Call to one of the sergeant positions. He said he will advertise outside the department to fill those positions. Once the department is up to full staffing, and the department’s new computer software system for tracking crime reports is installed, the chief said, he hopes to divide the town into thirds, with officers assigned to specific areas. The board praised Johnston sending officers to lunch at Springfield High School twice a week in an effort to promote better relationships between the department and the town’s youth. Johnston said another school in town has requested an officer to come for lunch.