05/23/2023 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY& NORTH OLMSTED Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones Discussion of Public Health. Safety and Welfare Nexus First, and foremost, the absence of regulations at the Federal or State level of the substances being contemplated in Ordinances 2023-52, 2023-53, 2023-54 should not be equated with them being considered safe. Counterintuitively, because of the lack of regulations on Psychoactive Substances such as Kratom, Kava, Delta -8, Delta -9, THC and synthetic cathinodes, more commonly referred to as bath salts, there is significant risk that what is being consumed is not safe. Zoning is the primary means of land use control that protects the public health, safety and welfare. The City in proposing the legislation that is the subject of this public hearing, is fully within its rights to restrict the use of property within the municipal limits, through exercising its home rule zoning rights. Kava Currently in Ohio, there are no methodologies to ensure the manufacturin& labeling, distribution and sale of the products is done in a way that is similar to other products, such as alcohol. One of the substances in question, Kava, has been referred to as a "booze replacement"' for those who may not want to consume alcohol. Ponder a moment on the booze replacement assertion, and the rigors of regulating alcohol vis a vis an unregulated substance. Alcohol, a regulated substance, has standards place upon its manufacturing process, distribution and sale. It also is regulated by the disclosure of potency for example, a consumer can have an 80 proof drink or a 151 proof drink or for those who prefer beer and wine through an Alcohol by Volume percentage (ABV %) knowing full well the potency of what is being consumed. Moreover, they are aware how the potency of each cocktail effects their mental reasoning, motor functionality, balance and ability to operate a motor vehicle. Recent studies found "drinking large amounts of kava before driving had a negative impact on temporal order judgement, which is linked to how a person sequences events in their head, such as checking for hazards when you are driving up to intersections"'n and "Avoidance of high doses if driving or operating heavy machinery should be mandatory."`t Given our previous indications of an unregulated market for these products how is a consumer able to reasonably discern what a "high dose" of Kava is? Police in the United States, the Pacific and Australia have indicated that Kava impaired drivers do not exhibit the same signs and symptoms of those who are intoxicated by alcohol. In fact, many have gone to court and were found not guilty because there is a lack of scientific understanding to prosecute the case." If the scientific community has concluded, to a https:f/clevelandmagazine. mm/food-drinklarticies/what-is-kava-a-potentia l-booze-