[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1868-S1869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN:
  S. 1609. A bill to provide for the rescheduling of flunitrazepan into 
schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.


                 controlled substances act legislation

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, the best time to target a new drug 
with uncompromising enforcement pressure is before abuse of that drug 
has overwhelmed our communities.
  The advantages of doing so are clear--there are fewer pushers 
trafficking in the drug and, most important, fewer lives and fewer 
families will have suffered from the abuse of the drug.
  Today, we are tracking the arrival of two new drugs--rohypnol and 
what is called ``special K''--as they begin to show popularity in 
several States. So, today is the time for action against these drugs.
  Heightening this urgency is one stark fact--these new drugs are being 
used primarily by our children--our teens and young adults. One need 
not be unduly alarmist, but we must proceed with dispatch to do what we 
can to stop the spread of rohypnol and special K.
  That is why I am today introducing legislation to make both these 
drugs subject to much stricter regulation. This can be accomplished by 
moving these drugs to different schedules under the Federal Controlled 
Substances Act.
  This is not a step to be taken lightly, because there is a regulatory 
procedure in place for scheduling controlled substances. But, 
unfortunately, this regulatory procedure can take years to accomplish 
our goal, and what we need to do must be done in months, not years.
  In the past decade, Congress has taken legislative action to change 
schedules in at least two other instances.
  In 1984, in response to an alarming increase in illicit trafficking 
and nonmedical abuse of the drug, Congress enacted legislation to move 
quaaludes, a previously medically approved sedative, to schedule one of 
the Controlled Substances Act.
  In the decade since this legislation took effect, quaalude abuse has 
decreased significantly, with emergency room quaalude overdose reports 
down 80 percent from 1985 to 1994.
  And in legislation I sponsored, which was passed as part of the 1990 
Crime Control Act, steroids were reclassified as a schedule three 
substance, subjecting them to more strict controls and penalties.
  This change was also in response to an explosion of abuse--
particularly by young athletes. The effects of this legislation has 
also been significant, with the rate of annual use of steroids down 42 
percent in the first 2 years following the enactment of the 
legislation.
  It is now time to legislate stricter controls for rohypnol and 
special K. The record high drug abuse rates of the 1970's were 
accompanied by a unique drug culture signified by the presence of 
``club'' drugs--drugs that were popular with youth and young adults who 
frequented dance clubs and often mixed drugs with alcohol and other 
substances.
  Recently, club drugs have made a resurgence in popularity, and they 
are often showing up at both bars and ``raves,'' all-night dance 
marathons popular with teens.
  Club drugs are typified by the way they suddenly gain popularity and 
become the drug of choice, becoming trendy among youth. Often these 
drugs are legally manufactured but are being used by youth in ways 
unintended by the manufacturer and unapproved by the Food and Drug 
Administration.
  Rohypnol and special K are two of the drugs which have recently hit 
the youth scene and quickly become popular. Both of these drugs are 
very dangerous drugs whose current legal status does not reflect the 
dangers inherent in their abuse.
  Rohypnol abuse was first documented in the United States in 1993. 
Although abuse was first noted in southern Florida, in the past 2 years 
abuse has spread rapidly, and rohypnol activity has now been reported 
in more than 30 States.
  Without rapid and strong Government action, abuse will continue to 
spread to uncontrollable levels.
  Teenagers find rohypnol attractive for a number of reasons. 
Frighteningly, one major reason is that youth do not see rohypnol as 
dangerous because it has a legitimate medical use in some areas of the 
world, and they mistakenly believe that if they are taking a drug which 
is in its original packaging from the manufacturer, it is both safe and 
unadulterated.
  In addition, there are few existing means for testing and prosecuting 
youth for rohypnol possession and intoxication. The combination of 
rohypnol and alcohol makes it possible for youth to feel very 
intoxicated while still remaining under the legal blood-alcohol level 
for driving.
  In addition to gaining attention for increasing rate of abuse, 
rohypnol has

[[Page S1869]]

also been the focus of another social problem: crime, particularly date 
rape. In fact, in many areas and in a number of newspaper accounts, 
rohypnol has been referred to as a ``date rape drug.''
  This connection between rohypnol and rape is due to the drug's 
disinhibitory effects and its likelihood of causing amnesia when 
combined with alcohol.
  Unfortunately, this amnesiac effect is one of the reasons many people 
who abuse rohypnol are attracted to it. It is commonly reported that 
people taking rohypnol in combination with alcohol typically have 
blackouts, or memory losses lasting 8 to 24 hours.
  The novelty of blackouts attract youth, particularly youth who are 
combining drugs with alcohol.
  This has led to rohypnol being referred to as the ``forget me pill'' 
or the ``forget pill.'' Even more frightening, many people are finding 
the drug attractive as a way of creating blackouts in others.
  The combination of disinhibition and memory loss caused by rohypnol 
mixed with alcohol makes women especially vulnerable to being victims 
of date rape by people who convince women to take rohypnol while 
drinking or put the drug in a woman's drink without her knowledge.
  Recently, in Florida and Texas, there have been a number of 
investigations into these types of victimizations.
  There have also been a number of reports of teens and young adults 
who have entered drug abuse treatment facilities in Florida, reporting 
rohypnol abuse and suicidal feelings they experienced while using 
rohypnol.
  The most famous example of rohypnol overdose made the news with the 
attempted suicide of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the rock band Nirvana. 
Cobain ultimately succeeded in committing suicide on March 18, 1994, 
but the rock singer had attempted suicide earlier in the month when he 
fell into a coma following a near fatal mixture of champagne and 
rohypnol. Cobain remained comatose for nearly 2 days before regaining 
consciousness after this drug experience.
  Special K is also hitting the club scene at alarming rates. This drug 
is a hallucinogen very similar to PCP. Special K, or ketamine 
hydrochloride, has become popular as a new designer drug.
  Although this drug has been in existence for several years, its abuse 
has rapidly become more prevalent in recent years.
  Now many parties and raves at dance clubs are called bump parties, as 
a way of conveying special K is available. It is particularly 
attractive to kids at these types of events because along with its 
mind-altering effects, the drug gives a burst of energy, and it can be 
mixed with water so kids can take it in public without attracting 
attention.
  In fact, a club in New Jersey was recently closed by police after it 
was discovered that teens were attending raves there where club 
employees distributed bottled water for this purpose.
  In addition to seizures in New Jersey, recent newspaper articles have 
mentioned seizures in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, 
California, and Florida. Drug tracking experts have also cited the 
presence of special K in Georgia and the District of Columbia, and in 
my home State of Delaware.
  Special K is considered the successor to PCP--or angel dust, as it is 
known on the street--due to similarity of the two drugs' chemical 
compositions and mind-altering effects. There have also been reports of 
PCP being sold to people who think they are buying special K.
  Ketamine is primarily a veterinary anesthetic. Although it has some 
limited use for human medical treatment, its use in this manner is not 
extensive due to the unpleasant and often dangerous side effects that 
can accompany its use.
  It is clear that the current controls on rohypnol and ketamine do not 
reflect the dangers these drugs now pose to our society, particularly 
to women and children. In the United States rohypnol is classified 
under the Federal Controlled Substances Act as only a schedule four 
drug, and ketamine is not scheduled at all.
  Last week, the Treasury Department announced that custom officials 
would begin seizing all rohypnol which is brought across U.S. borders. 
This is a step in the right direction. But this ban on all rohypnol is 
only the first step.
  Further action is needed to make sure cracking down on the illegal 
trafficking of rohypnol is a high priority and that illegal traffickers 
of rohypnol are given tough sanctions.
  That is why I am introducing legislation to increase the restrictions 
on both special K and rohypnol. By moving rohypnol to schedule one of 
the Federal Controlled Substances Act and adding special K to schedule 
two of the act, this legislation will subject both drugs to tighter 
controls, increased penalties for unlawful activity involving the two 
drugs, and will increase the attention and enforcement efforts directed 
at the drugs by Federal, State, and local law and drug enforcement 
officials.
  In essence, these tighter regulations will mean that rohypnol will be 
subjected to the same restrictions and penalties as heroin, and special 
K will face the same controls as cocaine.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in seeing to speedy passage of this 
legislation--taking action to make these drugs less available to our 
youth now.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the bill appear in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1609

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

     SECTION 1. RESCHEDULING.

       Notwithstanding sections 201 and 202 (a) and (b) of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 811, 812 (a),(b)) 
     respecting the scheduling of controlled substances, the 
     Attorney General shall, by order--
       (1) transfer flunitrazepam from schedule IV of such Act to 
     schedule I of such Act; and
       (2) add ketamine hydrochloride to schedule II of such 
     Act.

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