The Brother Francis Shelter says it's seeing more evidence that guests are using "Spice," a synthetic drug sold under many names and marketed as potpourri.
The Anchorage homeless shelter's staff spent time with Anchorage police officers with the Community Action Policing Team on Wednesday to learn more about the drug.
"Unfortunately we've really noticed over the past six months to nine months an increase in what I would call negative behavior on the part of some of our guests here at Brother Francis shelter," said Susan Bomalaski the Executive Director of Catholic Social Services.
APD recommended that shelter staff be very careful and patient around someone suspected of using "Spice" and to call police because some users can't feel pain and they are often unpredictable.
Nate Mitchell, a CAP Team Officer with APD says the law is playing cat-and-mouse with the manufacturers of the drug.
"When we have someone who has spice in their possession we can't necessarily arrest them because the chemical composition doesn't meet the laws that have been set forth by the DEA." Mitchell said.
Mitchell added that officers can issue a civil penalty of $300.
Contact: Dan Carpenter