[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3457 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3457

    To amend the Controlled Substances Act to direct the emergency 
  scheduling of gamma hydroxybutyric acid, to provide for a national 
              awareness campaign, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 1999

   Mr. Upton (for himself, Mr. Stupak, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. 
   Bliley, and Mr. Roemer) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
  on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Controlled Substances Act to direct the emergency 
  scheduling of gamma hydroxybutyric acid, to provide for a national 
              awareness campaign, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid 
Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (also called G, Liquid X, 
        Liquid Ecstasy, Grievous Bodily Harm, Georgia Home Boy, Scoop) 
        has become a significant and growing problem in law 
        enforcement. At least 20 States have scheduled such drug in 
        their drug laws and law enforcement officials have been 
        experiencing an increased presence of the drug in driving under 
        the influence, sexual assault, and overdose cases especially at 
        night clubs and parties.
            (2) A behavioral depressant and a hypnotic, gamma 
        hydroxybutyric acid (``GHB'') is being used in conjunction with 
        alcohol and other drugs with detrimental effects in an 
        increasing number of cases. It is difficult to isolate the 
        impact of such drug's ingestion since it is so typically taken 
        with an ever-changing array of other drugs and especially 
        alcohol which potentiates its impact.
            (3) GHB takes the same path as alcohol, processes via 
        alcohol dehydrogenase, and its symptoms at high levels of 
        intake and as impact builds are comparable to alcohol 
        ingestion/intoxication. Thus, aggression and violence can be 
        expected in some individuals who use such drug.
            (4) If taken for human consumption, common industrial 
        chemicals such as gamma butyrolactone and 1.4-butanediol are 
        swiftly converted by the body into GHB. Illicit use of these 
        and other GHB analogues and precursor chemicals is a 
        significant and growing law enforcement problem.
            (5) A human pharmaceutical formulation of gamma 
        hydroxybutyric acid is being developed as a treatment for 
        cataplexy, a serious and debilitating disease. Cataplexy, which 
        causes sudden and total loss of muscle control, affects about 
        65 percent of the estimated 180,000 Americans with narcolepsy, 
        a sleep disorder. People with cataplexy often are unable to 
        work, drive a car, hold their children or live a normal life.
            (6) Abuse of illicit GHB is an imminent hazard to public 
        safety that requires immediate regulatory action under the 
        Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY SCHEDULING OF GAMMA HYDROXYBUTYRIC ACID AND LISTING 
              OF GAMMA BUTYROLACTONE AS LIST I CHEMICAL.

    (a) Emergency Scheduling of GHB.--
            (1) In general.--The Congress finds that the abuse of 
        illicit gamma hydroxybutyric acid is an imminent hazard to the 
        public safety. Accordingly, the Attorney General, 
        notwithstanding sections 201(a), 201(b), 201(c), and 202 of the 
        Controlled Substances Act, shall issue, not later than 60 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, a final order that 
        schedules such drug (together with its salts, isomers, and 
        salts of isomers) in the same schedule under section 202(c) of 
        the Controlled Substances Act as would apply to a scheduling of 
        a substance by the Attorney General under section 201(h)(1) of 
        such Act (relating to imminent hazards to the public safety), 
        except as follows:
                    (A) For purposes of any requirements that relate to 
                the physical security of registered manufacturers and 
                registered distributors, the final order shall treat 
                such drug, when the drug is manufactured, distributed, 
                or possessed in accordance with an exemption under 
                section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
                Act (whether the exemption involved is authorized 
before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act), as being 
in the same schedule as that recommended by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services for the drug when the drug is the subject of an 
authorized investigational new drug application (relating to such 
section 505(i)). The recommendation referred to in the preceding 
sentence is contained in the first paragraph of the letter transmitted 
on May 19, 1999, by such Secretary (acting through the Assistant 
Secretary for Health) to the Attorney General (acting through the 
Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration), which 
letter was in response to the letter transmitted by the Attorney 
General (acting through such Deputy Administrator) on September 16, 
1997. In publishing the final order in the Federal Register, the 
Attorney General shall publish a copy of the letter that was 
transmitted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
                    (B) In the case of gamma hydroxybutyric acid that 
                is contained in a drug product for which an application 
                is approved under section 505 of the Federal Food, 
                Drug, and Cosmetic Act (whether the application 
                involved is approved before, on, or after the date of 
                the enactment of this Act), the final order shall 
                schedule such drug in the same schedule as that 
                recommended by the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services for authorized formulations of the drug. The 
                recommendation referred to in the preceding sentence is 
                contained in the last sentence of the fourth paragraph 
                of the letter referred to in subparagraph (A) with 
                respect to May 19, 1999.
            (2) Failure to issue order.--If the final order is not 
        issued within the period specified in paragraph (1), gamma 
        hydroxybutyric acid (together with its salts, isomers, and 
        salts of isomers) is deemed to be scheduled under section 
        202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act in accordance with the 
        policies described in paragraph (1), as if the Attorney General 
        had issued a final order in accordance with such paragraph.
    (b) Additional Penalties Relating to GHB.--
            (1) Controlled substances act.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 401(b)(1)(C) of the 
                Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(C)) is 
                amended in the first sentence by inserting after 
                ``schedule I or II,'' the following: ``gamma 
                hydroxybutyric acid (including when scheduled as an 
                approved drug product for purposes of section 
                3(a)(1)(B) of the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid 
                Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 1999),''.
                    (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 401(b)(1)(D) of 
                the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(D)) 
                is amended by striking ``, or 30'' and inserting 
                ``(other than gamma hydroxybutyric acid), or 30''.
            (2) Controlled substances import and export act.--
                    (A) In general.--Section 1010(b)(3) of the 
                Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 
                960(b)(3)) is amended in the first sentence by 
                inserting after ``I or II,'' the following: ``gamma 
                hydroxybutyric acid (including when scheduled as an 
                approved drug product for purposes of section 
                3(a)(1)(B) of the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid 
                Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 1999),''.
                    (B) Conforming amendment.--Section 1010(b)(4) of 
                the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 
                U.S.C. 960(b)(4)) is amended by striking 
                ``flunitrazepam)'' and inserting the following: 
                ``flunitrazepam and except a violation involving gamma 
                hydroxybutyric acid)''.
    (c) Gamma Butyrolactone as Additional List I Chemical.--Section 
102(34) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(34)) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (X) as subparagraph (Y); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (W) the following 
        subparagraph:
            ``(X) Gamma butyrolactone.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR GAMMA 
              HYDROXYBUTYRIC PRODUCTS IN SCHEDULE III.

    Section 307 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 827) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) In the case of a drug product containing gamma hydroxybutyric 
acid for which an application has been approved under section 505 of 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Attorney General may, in 
addition to any other requirements that apply under this section with 
respect to such a drug product, establish any of the following as 
reporting requirements:
            ``(1) That every person who is registered as a manufacturer 
        of bulk or dosage form, as a packager, repackager, labeler, 
        relabeler, or distributor shall report acquisition and 
        distribution transactions quarterly, not later than the 15th 
        day of the month succeeding the quarter for which the report is 
        submitted, and annually report end-of-year inventories.
            ``(2) That all annual inventory reports shall be filed no 
        later than January 15 of the year following that for which the 
        report is submitted and include data on the stocks of the drug 
        product, drug substance, bulk drug, and dosage forms on hand as 
        of the close of business December 31, indicating whether 
        materials reported are in storage or in process of 
        manufacturing.
            ``(3) That every person who is registered as a manufacturer 
        of bulk or dosage form shall report all manufacturing 
        transactions of both inventory increases, including purchases, 
        transfers, and returns, and reductions from inventory, 
        including sales, transfers, theft, destruction, and seizure, 
        and shall provide data on material manufactured, manufactured 
        from other material, use in manufacturing other material, and 
        use in manufacturing dosage forms.
            ``(4) That all reports under this section must include the 
        registered person's registration number as well as the 
        registration numbers, names, and other identifying information 
        of vendors, suppliers, and customers, sufficient to allow the 
        Attorney General to track the receipt and distribution of the 
        drug.
            ``(5) That each dispensing practitioner shall maintain for 
        each prescription the name of the prescribing practitioner, the 
        prescribing practitioner's Federal and State registration 
        numbers, with the expiration dates of these registrations, 
        verification that the prescribing practitioner possesses the 
        appropriate registration to prescribe this controlled 
        substance, the patient's name and address, the name of the 
        patient's insurance provider and documentation by a medical 
        practitioner licensed and registered to prescribe the drug of 
        the patient's medical need for the drug. Such information shall 
        be available for inspection and copying by the Attorney 
        General.
            ``(6) That section 310(b)(3) (relating to mail order 
        reporting) applies with respect to gamma hydroxybutyric acid to 
        the same extent and in the same manner as such section applies 
        with respect to the chemicals and drug products specified in 
        subparagraph (A)(i) of such section.''.

SEC. 5. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ANALOGUES.

    (a) Rule of Construction Regarding Controlled Substances 
Analogues.--Section 102(32) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
802(32)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph (B)'' 
        and inserting ``subparagraph (C)'';
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new 
        subparagraph (B):
    ``(B) The designation of gamma butyrolactone or any other chemical 
as a listed chemical pursuant to paragraph (34) or (35) does not 
preclude a finding pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph that 
the chemical is a controlled substance analogue.''.
    (b) Distribution With Intent To Commit Crime of Violence.--Section 
401(b)(7)(A) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(7)(A)) 
is amended by inserting ``or controlled substance analogue'' after 
``distributing a controlled substance''.

SEC. 6. DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL PROTOCOLS, TRAINING MATERIALS, FORENSIC 
              FIELD TESTS, AND COORDINATION MECHANISM FOR 
              INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS RELATING TO GAMMA 
              HYDROXYBUTYRIC ACID, OTHER CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, AND 
              DESIGNER DRUGS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall--
            (1) develop--
                    (A) model protocols for the collection of 
                toxicology specimens and the taking of victim 
                statements in connection with investigations into and 
                prosecutions related to possible violations of the 
                Controlled Substances Act or other Federal or State 
                laws that result in or contribute to rape, other crimes 
                of violence, or other crimes involving abuse of gamma 
                hydroxybutyric acid, other controlled substances, or 
                so-called ``designer drugs''; and
                    (B) model training materials for law enforcement 
                personnel involved in such investigations; and
            (2) make such protocols and training materials available to 
        Federal, State, and local personnel responsible for such 
        investigations.
    (b) Grant.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall make a grant, 
        in such amount and to such public or private person or entity 
        as the Attorney General considers appropriate, for the 
        development of forensic field tests to assist law enforcement 
        officials in detecting the presence of gamma hydroxybutyric 
        acid and related substances.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
        this subsection.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the 
Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives 
a report on current mechanisms for coordinating Federal, State, and 
local investigations into and prosecutions related to possible 
violations of the Controlled Substances Act or other Federal or State 
laws that result in or contribute to rape, other crimes of violence, or 
other crimes involving the abuse of gamma hydroxybutyric acid, other 
controlled substances, or so-called ``designer drugs''. The report 
shall also include recommendations for the improvement of such 
mechanisms.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING DATE-RAPE DRUGS; NATIONAL AWARENESS 
              CAMPAIGN.

    (a) Annual Report.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall periodically 
submit to Congress reports each of which provides an estimate of the 
number of incidents of the abuse of date-rape drugs (as defined in 
subsection (c)) that occurred during the most recent one-year period 
for which data are available. The first such report shall be submitted 
not later than January 15, 2000, and subsequent reports shall be 
submitted annually thereafter.
    (b) National Awareness Campaign.--
            (1) Development of plan; recommendations of advisory 
        committee.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation 
                with the Attorney General, shall develop a plan for 
                carrying out a national campaign to educate individuals 
                described in subparagraph (B) on the following:
                            (i) The dangers of date-rape drugs.
                            (ii) The applicability of the Controlled 
                        Substances Act to such drugs, including 
                        penalties under such Act.
                            (iii) Recognizing the symptoms that 
                        indicate an individual may be a victim of such 
                        drugs, including symptoms with respect to 
                        sexual assault.
                            (iv) Appropriately responding when an 
                        individual has such symptoms.
                    (B) Intended population.--The individuals referred 
                to in subparagraph (A) are young adults, youths, law 
                enforcement personnel, educators, school nurses, 
                counselors of rape victims, and emergency room 
                personnel in hospitals.
                    (C) Advisory committee.--Not later than 180 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to make 
                recommendations to the Secretary regarding the plan 
                under subparagraph (A). The committee shall be composed 
                of individuals who collectively possess expertise on 
                the effects of date-rape drugs and on detecting and 
                controlling the drugs.
            (2) Implementation of plan.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date on which the advisory committee under paragraph (1) is 
        established, the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney 
        General, shall commence carrying out the national campaign 
        under such paragraph in accordance with the plan developed 
        under such paragraph. The campaign may be carried out directly 
        by the Secretary and through grants and contracts.
            (3) Evaluation by general accounting office.--Not later 
        than two years after the date on which the national campaign 
        under paragraph (1) is commenced, the Comptroller General of 
        the United States shall submit to Congress an evaluation of the 
        effects with respect to date-rape drugs of the national 
        campaign.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``date-rape 
drugs'' means gamma hydroxybutyric acid and its salts, isomers, and 
salts of isomers and such other drugs or substances as the Secretary, 
after consultation with the Attorney General, determines to be 
appropriate.

SEC. 8. SPECIAL UNIT IN DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION FOR ASSESSMENT 
              OF ABUSE AND TRAFFICKING OF GHB AND OTHER CONTROLLED 
              SUBSTANCES AND DRUGS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish within the 
Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration a special 
unit which shall assess the abuse of and trafficking in gamma 
hydroxybutyric acid, flunitrazepam, ketamine, other controlled 
substances, and other so-called ``designer drugs'' whose use has been 
associated with sexual assault.
    (b) Particular Duties.--In carrying out the assessment under 
subsection (a), the special unit shall--
            (1) examine the threat posed by the substances and drugs 
        referred to in that subsection on a national basis and regional 
        basis; and
            (2) make recommendations to the Attorney General regarding 
        allocations and reallocations of resources in order to address 
        the threat.
    (c) Report on Recommendations.--
            (1) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to 
        the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of 
        Representatives a report which shall--
                    (A) set forth the recommendations of the special 
                unit under subsection (b)(2): and
                    (B) specify the allocations and reallocations of 
                resources that the Attorney General proposes to make in 
                response to the recommendations.
            (2) Treatment of report.--Nothing in paragraph (1) may be 
        construed to prohibit the Attorney General or the Administrator 
        of the Drug Enforcement Administration from making any 
        reallocation of existing resources that the Attorney General or 
        the Administrator, as the case may be, considers appropriate.

SEC. 9. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

    Section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841) is 
amended by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) as 
subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively.
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