COUNTY WANTS CIVIL PENALTY FOR DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

Following the example of Berkeley County, Charleston County is
considering a law that would allow sheriff's deputies to assess civil
penalties for possession of drug paraphernalia. Deputies can currently
file criminal charges for possession of paraphernalia, if drugs are
found as well. Prosecutors, however, usually focus on the drug
charges.

Civil penalties, which can only be filed with possession of
drugs, give deputies and prosecutors another option. The law proposes
a civil penalty of up to $500 for possession of paraphernalia.
Councilman A.D.

Jordan proposed the new law, patterned after one
passed earlier this year in Berkeley County, saying it gives deputies
another tool in the war against drugs. "If you're not using drugs,
what are you using paraphernalia for?" he said.

County attorneys are in the process of defining paraphernalia in the
ordinance. A council committee unanimously approved it Thursday,
passing it on to the full council, which must vote on it three times
over a period of several weeks before it becomes law.