Wednesday night the city council unanimously agreed to close a legal loophole that was letting minors who are repeat drug and alcohol offenders off with lighter sentences.

Under the previous ordinance if a teen has, for example two alcohol offenses and then is found with drugs, the judge can only consider the drug offense when determining a punishment. The new ordinance passed tonight will classify substance abuse offenses under one category. The city says this will give judges more sentencing options and allow them to be more proactive in preventing juvenile substance abuse.