The Board of Health unanimously passed two regulations at its meeting Monday night.
The first regulations discussed were to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of synthetic cannabinoids, including but not limited to delta-8 and delta-10.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Director of Public Health Andrew Petty. “The whole reason behind this regulation (is) they produce synthetic cannabinoids, and we often find them in tobacco establishments or establishments that also sell tobacco without tobacco products.
“Now, (the) Massachusetts Department of Agriculture does have a regulation against them, but we continue to find them in establishments, so by passing this local regulation, our tobacco control enforcement agents can go into establishments and make sure they’re removed and not on the premises.”
Board member Tom Masaro stressed that “this is really important” and “very proactive” because “the downsides of these synthetics, we have no idea how bad they can be.”
Petty added that “the hard thing about the synthetics is that they’re changing all the time. They can change one little molecule of it, and now it’s called a different structure, and they can sell it under a different name.”
“We’re always chasing them, trying to stay ahead of this stuff, but the hard thing is that we do not know what some of these things cause, and they can be very dangerous,” Petty said.
Hazlett asked if marijuana shops carried synthetic cannabinoids, to which Petty clarified, “No, marijuana shops are very strict. They can only carry marijuana products. They have a whole other set of regulations.”
Synthetic cannabinoids have been found mostly in convenience stores and gas stations, according to Petty, to which board members joked that they would be OK since Marblehead doesn’t have a gas station anymore.
Board member Tom McMahon added that, since there are only six places in town to buy cigarettes, “in a small town, everyone’s gonna hear about it if one of them’s doing it, so it’s probably easier to control here.”
The new regulations dictate that “any permit holder found in violation of this regulation shall receive a notice of violation from the board or the board’s designated agent.”
The violations are punishable by:
- A fine of $1,000 in the case of a first violation
- A fine of $2,000 in the case of a second violation within 36 months of the previous violation and a suspension of any permit issued by the board
- A fine of $5,000 in the case of a third violation within a 36 month period and a suspension of any permit issued by the board.
The other regulations passed were for body art establishments and practitioners. The requirements include, but are not limited to, “general sanitation of premises where body art is to be performed, the use of pre-sterilized, disposable equipment, and training and education standards for body art practitioners.”
“We wanted our rules and regulations to kind of outline and be similar with a lot of our neighbors, so we worked on this as a coalition, and we spent a lot of time going through these rules and regulations for body art establishments,” Petty said.
“Obviously, we do not have a current tattoo establishment in town,” he added. “We have had permanent makeup artists in town – you’ll find them in med(ical) spas and stuff like that – but we wanted to adopt a set of rules and regulations, or recommend several rules and regulations that essentially match all the other communities on the North Shore, so you’re talking Salem, Lynn, Swampscott (and) Danvers.”
Proposed body art permit and application fees were also unanimously approved. The fees are as follows:
- $400 for an establishment plan review
- $750 for an establishment permit application
- $200 for an apprenticeship permit application
- $350 for a practitioner without permanent makeup instructor designation
- $200 for a guest practitioner without permanent makeup instructor designation
Before Monday’s vote, the only fees established were a $500 fee for a body art establishment permit and a $200 fee for a body art practitioner permit application.
McMahon teased that “you could make (the fees) zero, and I don’t think you’re going to get a tattoo artist moving into town.” Hazlett added that she didn’t think there was “enough traffic here.” The board agreed that a permanent makeup artist may be likely to set up shop in Marblehead, though.
Upon their passing April 28, both regulations were effective immediately.
