Provo • Utah County's canyons are going spice-free.

The County Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to outlaw the possession, purchase or use of the chemically treated herbs that many use as a legal substitute for marijuana. The ordinance, which will go into effect after it is formally published, will apply only to Utah County's unincorporated areas, said County Attorney Jeff Buhman said.

"We think the ordinance we have drafted will allow [sheriff's] deputies to enforce [the law] in the canyons," Buhman said

Under-sheriff Mike Forshee said deputies are encountering teenagers using spice in the canyons — and admitting they use it to get high because it is legal. While the herbs are treated with substances that simulate the effects of marijuana, Forshee said it can't be detected by drug tests.

The U.S. Naval Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) said a German study reported that spice is potentially addictive and that users may experience panic attacks and problems with the heart and nervous system. There are, however, no long-term studies on its effects on humans.

According to the NCIS, spice is outlawed in Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Chile, Germany and France.

The Utah County ordinance is a stopgap measure, according to Buhman, who said the state prosecutors' association is working with the Legislature to propose a statewide ban during the 2011 session.

But the owner of a Provo smoke shop thinks outlawing spice is an exercise in futility. Karen Goddess, who runs the Hookah Collection on Center Street, said if spice is outlawed, users will find another legal substance to give them the same high.

"What makes spice so popular is government trying to take our rights away," Goddess said. "We cannot smoke weed, so this is a legal way to get a high."

She said 90 percent of her shop's business is spice sold under the "Goddess" label. The shop also sells water pipes and accessories.

But Forshee and Deputy Jay Lessley, who researched spice for the attorney's office, said it is a public safety issue. While the chemicals are legal, they said, they can impair a driver's abilities as much as alcohol or drugs.

"We're not trying to outlaw the substance, but how it is used," Lessley said.

Commissioner Gary J. Anderson was initially concerned that the ordinance — which bans the illicit use of any substance "causing a condition of intoxication, inebriation, excitement, stupefaction or the dulling … of the nervous system" — was overbroad and could possibly include caffeinated energy drinks. But he said the ordinance was needed.

"We recognize [spice] is a problem," Anderson said. "We need to give law enforcement agencies all the tools needed to do the job."

But Commission Vice Chairman Larry Ellertson didn't think the ordinance went far enough. His idea: ban anything that could be used to get high or drunk, closing off possible loopholes.

Buhman said such an overly broad approach would be found unconstitutional.

Anderson said such a ban might extend to substances such as sugar and cola drinks. "I can eat chocolate until I'm stupified," he quipped.

dmeyers@sltrib.com —

Six months, $1,000 for spice?

The ordinance passed Tuesday by the Utah County Commission makes possession, use or purchase of spice with the intention of getting intoxicated a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.