Is that ground rhino horn in your store?

Julie Peters loves the Newport Quik Stop store on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. It reminds her of a New York bodega that has everything you need in one place. Earlier this week, Peters saw what appeared to be ground rhino horn on the counter of the store.

"I asked the clerk if it was real ground rhino horn and he said ‘yes’ and that customers ask for it and it was legal to sell,” Peters said.

Peters said the packets were still there before she left this week for New York, where she works in the movie industry. "I have friends in Africa that risk their lives every day to protect endangered species," said Peters. "On World Rhino Day [September 22nd], I did a Facebook post about seeing the ground rhino horn because I was really upset. My friend Ted Wigler went to check it out and said it was nothing more than a male sexual enhancement pill with a rhino on the package selling for $9.99."

Peters was a little embarrassed but mostly relieved that it was just a misunderstanding. According to the packaging, goji berries are the main ingredient in the red capsules.

World Rhino Day was started in 2010 by the World Wildlife Fund in Africa to celebrate rhinos and debunk the myths that lead to rhino horn demand.

Dr. William Ripple, an Oregon ecologist, regularly gives talks on endangered species. "Most rhino horns go to Southeast Asia. The people believe it cures different diseases," Ripple said. "A lot of animals are killed for medicinal purposes. There is no evidence to support that any of it works. Rhino horns are mostly made up of keratin, the same thing found in fingernails and hair. Several dozen species of animals are killed just to use one part of the body. It's been carried to an extreme with the rhino. Syndicated crime is getting involved in selling it for profit as well as terrorists." Ripple said the value of rhino horn is $60,000 per kilogram.

California law has prohibited the ivory trade since 1977. A loophole in the law makes it easy to bypass, as all one has to do is claim that ivory was imported before 1977.

California state Assembly speaker Toni Atkins introduced Assembly Bill 96 (AB 96) to close this loophole. It passed both the senate and Assembly in September and was put on Governor Brown's desk on September 16. October 11 is the deadline to sign it into law or veto it.

AB 96 will make it unlawful to purchase, sell, possess with intent to sell, or import with intent to sell ivory or rhino horn.

If the bill is signed into law, California would be the third state to have closed the loophole. New Jersey and New York signed similar bills in 2014. AB 96 would repeal the current exemption that allows for the sale of ivory imported before 1977. Certain exemptions would exist for educational and scientific institutions as well as for musical instruments and antiques. Historical documentation would be required to prove claims.

If the bill is signed into law, it would be enforced starting July 1, 2016. Penalties for breaking the law would range from $1000 to $50,000 in fines and jail time of up to one year.