Chandler passes law with city-level punishments for food and drink tampering

PHOENIX – A new Chandler law adds city-level punishments for food and drink tampering.

The ordinance will go into effect May 24 after the Chandler City Council approved it at Thursday’s meeting. It was designed to complement existing state laws that govern food and beverage tampering.

“It makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor in Chandler to knowingly put any drug, substance or intoxicant into someone’s food or drink without their knowledge or consent — or even to attempt to do so,” Councilman OD Harris, who sponsored the ordinance, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday.

The Chandler law covers a wider range of situations than the state law on spiking food and beverages. It also provides an avenue for faster prosecutions, Harris said.

Violations are subject to penalties of up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $5,000.

“Most times, when people are victimized like that, typically what happens is there’s a complaint filed, and then there’s this long delay. Well, in Chandler, there won’t be no long delays,” Harris said.

The Chandler City Council took action two months after neighboring Tempe approved what officials said was Arizona’s first ordinance aimed at preventing drink spiking.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Melody Birkett contributed to this report.

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