Pepper Spray Now for Sale to Residents

SACRAMENTO — Starting today, Californians will be able to legally buy a pepper spray tear gas that can be used to disable an attacker for up to 45 minutes but rarely causes long-term injuries, Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said Monday.

The spray, available in 47 other states, was legalized in California by the Legislature with the condition that users be trained to properly apply the substance before being allowed to buy it.

Lungren said the state Justice Department has established a certification program and has licensed more than 200 outlets statewide to sell the spray.

“Pepper spray is a reasonably safe and effective self-protection device,” Lungren said at a news conference. “Ordinary citizens, properly trained, can be trusted to use pepper spray in a safe, legal manner.”

Lungren appeared with Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame), who authored the law and today is scheduled to become the first California civilian certified to carry the spray. Police officers have authority to use the weapon.

Speier said she carried the legislation in the hopes of providing people concerned about self-defense an alternative to buying guns.

“We’ve been in the Dark Ages,” the lawmaker said, explaining that it was easier to buy a gun in California than to buy tear gas. “All of us are concerned about the spread of lethal weapons in California.”

When properly applied, the pepper spray, known as oleoresin capsicum tear gas, disables a person by forcing the eyes shut and restricting breathing ability. The symptoms are acute for a few minutes, subside within 10 to 15 minutes, and usually disappear within an hour.

People who want to carry the spray will have three ways to be certified:

They can pass a 30-question test, watch a 30-minute videotape or attend a class at a police station, community college or private academy. In each case, they will be required to test-spray a canister holding a harmless gas.

Applicants will have to pay a $17 fee and will receive a pink, wallet-size certification card good for life.

It is a misdemeanor to carry pepper gas without a certificate or to carry a brand not certified by the attorney general’s office. It is a felony to use the spray in the commission of a crime.