PORTER COUNTY -- The Porter County commissioners took the first step in making synthetic marijuana substitutes illegal in the county.
On Tuesday, they passed a first vote to fine those selling smoking herbs infused with the synthetic THC called JWH-018.
The fine would be up to $25,000 and those selling it would receive a court injunction against selling it.
"This particular substance, it's kind of a legal loophole," Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel told the commissioners before the vote. "Our hope is it will just stop," he said.
The drug sells in gas stations and tobacco shops under names like Spice, Black Magic, K2 and Lover's Blend.
Manufacturers infuse mixtures of legal herbs with JWH-018.
If a person or business sells it after the injunction, they face contempt of court citations and more fines besides another $25,000, Porter County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger said.
Gensel based the Porter County ordinance on one developed in Boone County and passed in a number of other Indiana counties.
The state legislature is working to ban the substance, but this is an immediate measure, Gensel said.
It's also not the last step, and the prosecutor's office is talking with Portage and Valparaiso to make JWH-018 mixtures illegal.
"Cities are next because this only does county jurisdiction," Gensel said. He was unsure whether towns like Chesterton fall under county jurisdiction.
The second vote to approve the ordinance should take place at the Sept. 21 commissioners' meeting. It requires two readings because of the fine involved, Commissioner Robert Harper said.