Pepper Spray Proving to Be a Hot Product : Protection: Business is brisk at stores that sell the self-defense item. Buyers are crowding certification classes.

For Rodney Ward it was the murder of the two Japanese students in San Pedro. For Patricia Ortiz it was the long walk to a dark parking lot after a night class at a community college. For Deborah Butler it was the moment two men flashed gang signs at her as she was walking her dogs after work.

All were precipitating incidents, minor traumas that reminded them of how vulnerable they are alone, at night, unarmed. None of them feel comfortable with guns, but they wanted some measure of protection, something to at least clutch as they walk from work to their cars, or through a dark parking lot, or down their driveways at night as they lug their garbage cans.

So Ward, Ortiz and Butler signed up for the pepper spray class at Long Beach Uniform Co., which has been training and certifying more than 40 people a day since March 1, when the state authorized dealers to make the spray available to citizens.

When the state first announced that the spray was legal in California, there was a period of frenzy and confusion. Many stores waited days for their shipments from the distributor. Others waited for state workers to inspect their businesses and authorize them to sell the product.

But now about 200 sporting goods stores and gun shops are selling the spray, with only about 35 still waiting for their applications to be processed, and the demand remains strong. About 30,000 canisters of the spray were sold in the first month, according to estimates by distributors.

“People are relieved they can finally buy the stuff,” said David Bateman, an owner of Bateman Brothers & Co., a gun and sporting goods store in Hollywood. “The first few days people were almost in a panic. . . . They wanted the spray, it was finally legal to buy it, but they couldn’t find anybody who was selling it.”

Pepper spray, whose scientific name is oleoresin capsicum, is a pepper extract in an oil base that sticks to the eyes, nose and mouth. It has a blinding and choking effect and overpowers most people with a burning sensation that makes breathing difficult.

There have been a few incidents of the spray being accidentally discharged in public places during the past month, but no reports of serious injury. Still, the American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the state for making the spray available to the public, saying more research is needed on its safety and reliability.

“There are too many unanswered questions at this point,” said Southern California ACLU spokesman Allan Parachini. “We still don’t know if the spray is reliable on people who are high on drugs or an in a psychiatric crisis. If it isn’t, that’s significant information that consumers need to know.”

But at Long Beach Uniform, which also sells handguns, the customers who pour in all day, every day, want to obtain their pepper spray first and worry about the controversy later. And it is not just individual customers who have deluged the store with calls. Dozens of corporations, including banks, hospitals and aircraft companies, have set up pepper spray training for their employees.

The store, one of the largest distributors of the spray in the state, runs five training classes a day and draws a wide range of crime-weary residents. On a recent day, there were burly security guards obtaining their certification alongside pregnant women, businessmen on their lunch breaks and unemployed construction workers. A van from a nearby convalescent home whisked six women in their late 70s and 80s to the store for the training. One young woman brought her aunt to the class on her birthday and bought her the pepper spray for a present.

Dozens of students began signing up for the classes after two Japanese college students were shot to death in a San Pedro supermarket parking lot two weeks ago, according to Long Beach Uniform employees.

Rodney Ward, a student at El Camino College, said the shootings have been a major topic of conversation at his school. His English teacher devoted a class discussion to the killings and assigned the students to write a paper on how they would protect themselves if attacked.

“That killing really woke me up,” said Ward, 22, after his pepper spray class. “I go to school at night. I shop at night, just like they did. I realized that the same thing could happen to me. . . . I’d be afraid to carry a gun. I’d be too jumpy. I feel a lot more comfortable with the pepper spray.”

Only one type of pepper spray has been authorized for use in California; it is a misdemeanor to carry any of the other brands. The authorized spray comes in a yellow canister and is manufactured by Defense Technology Corp. of America.

Those who want to obtain pepper spray must watch a 30-minute training video or take a 30-question test and then demonstrate their ability to use the canisters. People who have previously taken a Mace class only have to view a 10-minute video and then pay a $12 state certification fee to carry the spray; all others must pay $17. The cost of the spray is $15 to $20.

Deborah Butler decided to sign up for the course when she began taking walks every night after work. Her husband has a bad back so she is forced to go alone, with just her two dogs for protection.

“The other night I’m walking down the street and a couple guys flash gang signs at me. . . . Here I am, a 35-year-old woman and I have to deal with that,” Butler said. “I need something to carry with me. I don’t want to let these people run me out of my own neighborhood.”