At Monday’s Knoxville City Council meeting, the council passed two ordinances concerning being in public while under the influence of substances. The first concerned chemical substances, such as sniffing glue, while the second dealt with controlled substances, such as marijuana. City Manager Aaron Adams says this will allow officers to issue a citation to anyone who is intoxicated on substances other than alcohol, and will help get those people off the streets.

“We just wanted to have a couple of ordinances on the book that would help for people who are chemically affected, but not necessarily through alcohol. These are essentially folks who are high in public. So this could be any controlled substance that would intoxicate you that way. It will basically result in municipal infractions, so it’s not a big deal; it’s a small fine. But at least it gives our officers an opportunity to move those people out of public and give them a citation.”

To hear a complete interview with Knoxville City Manager Aaron Adams, tune into today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.