[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 41 (Thursday, March 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1830-S1831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Hatch, Ms. 
        Klobuchar, Mr. Manchin, Mrs. Hagan, and Mr. Whitehouse):
  S. 605. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to place 
synthetic drugs in Schedule I; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, all too often we learn of new and 
emerging drug threats to our communities that often have a huge 
negative impact on our youth. When these drug threats emerge it is 
crucial that we unite to halt the spread of the problem before it 
consumes families and communities.
  Today we are confronted with new and very dangerous substances 
packaged as innocent products. Specifically, more and more kids are 
able to go online or to the nearest novelty store at the local shopping 
mall and purchase incense laced with compounds that seriously alter the 
mind. These products are commonly referred to as ``K2''or ``Spice'' 
among other names. Although these products contain a label that states 
that the product is not for human consumption, kids and drug users are 
smoking these products in order to obtain a ``legal high.''
  It is believed that these products emerged on the scene beginning 
about 4 or 5 years ago and their use spread quickly throughout Europe. 
According to a study conducted by the European Centre for Drugs and 
Drug Addiction, most of the chemical compounds found in ``K2'' are not 
reported on the label. This study concluded that the compounds are not 
listed because there is a deliberate marketing strategy to represent 
this product as a natural substance.
  However, these products are anything but natural. Most of the 
chemical compounds the Drug Enforcement Administration has identified 
within K2 products were invented by Dr. John W. Huffman of Clemson 
University in the 1990's for research purposes. These compounds were 
never intended to be used for any other purpose than research. Dr. 
Huffman developed these compounds to further understand endocannabinoid 
receptors in the body. They were only tested on mice and never tested 
on humans. No long term effects of their use are currently known.
  As more and more people are experimenting with K2 it is becoming 
completely evident that their use is anything but safe. The American 
Association of Poison Control Centers reports significant increases in 
the amount of calls concerning these products. There were only 13 calls 
related to K2 use reported for 2009, but there were over 1,000 calls 
concerning K2 use in 2010. Common effects reported by emergency room 
doctors include: increased agitation, elevated heart rate and blood 
pressure, hallucinations, and seizures. Effects from the highs from 
these synthetic drugs are reported to last as few as several hours and 
as long as one week. Dr. Huffman stated that since so little research 
has been conducted on these compounds that using any one of them would 
be like, ``playing Russian roulette.''
  In fact, Dr. Anthony Scalzo, a professor of emergency medicine at St. 
Louis University, reports that the compounds are significantly more 
potent than the active ingredients of marijuana. Dr. Scalzo states that 
what is troubling is the fact that the amount of compounds varies from 
product to product so no one can be sure exactly the amount of the drug 
they are putting in their body. Dr. Scalzo states that this can lead to 
significant problems such as altering of mind, addiction, injury, and 
even death.
  According to various news articles across the nation, K2 can cause 
serious erratic and criminal behavior. In Mooresville, Indiana police 
arrested a group of teens after they were connected to a string of 
burglaries while high on K2. Another case in Honolulu, Hawaii shows 
police arrested a 23-year-old man after he tried to throw his 
girlfriend off an 11th floor balcony after smoking K2. A 14-year-old 
boy in Missouri nearly threw himself out of a 5th story window after 
smoking K2. Once the teen got over his high he denied having any 
suicidal intentions. Doctors believe he was hallucinating at the time 
of this incident.
  K2 use is also causing serious health problems and increased visits 
to the

[[Page S1831]]

emergency room. A Louisiana teen said he became very ill after trying 
K2. The teen said he experienced numbness starting at his feet and 
traveling to his head. He was nauseous, light-headed and was having 
hallucinations. This teen stated that K2 is being passed around at 
school and that many people were trying it without fear, assuming it 
was safe because it was legal. A 21-year-old man, from Greenfield, 
Indiana repeatedly stabbed himself in the neck while hallucinating on 
K2.
  Regrettably, K2 use also has deadly consequences. On June 6, 2010, 
David Rozga, a recent 18-year-old Indianola, Iowa high school graduate 
smoked a package of K2 along with his friends before going to a concert 
thinking it was harmless fun. According to his parents, David and his 
friends purchased this product at a mall in Des Moines after hearing 
about it from some college students who were home for the summer. After 
smoking this product, David's friends reported that David became highly 
agitated and terrified. When he got home, he found a family shotgun and 
committed suicide approximately 90 minutes after smoking K2. The 
Indianola police believe David was under the influence of K2 at the 
time of his death. David's parents and many in the community who knew 
David were completely shocked and saddened by this event. David was 
looking forward to starting his college career at the University of 
Northern Iowa in the fall. As a result, the Iowa Pharmacy Board placed 
an emergency ban on K2 products in Iowa beginning on July 21, 2010. A 
permanent ban is currently being considered in the legislature.
  David's tragic death may have been the first case in the United 
States of synthetic drug use leading to someone's death, but sadly it 
was only the beginning. A month after David's tragic death, police 
report that a 28-year-old Middletown, Indiana mother of two passed away 
after smoking a lethal dose of K2. This woman's godson reported that 
anyone could get K2 easily because it can be sold to anybody at any 
price at any time. This last August, a recent 19-year-old Lake 
Highlands High School graduate in Dallas, TX, passed away after smoking 
K2. The medical examiner confirmed that this boy had K2 in his system 
at the time of his death. Even more disturbing is the involvement of 
synthetic drugs in a recent school shooting that occurred in Omaha, 
Nebraska in January of 2011. Robert Butler, Jr. shot and killed himself 
and Dr. Vicki Kaspar, the assistant principal at the school. Doctors 
have confirmed that Robert Butler had K2 in his system at the time of 
the shooting.
  These incidents throughout the country give me great concern that 
synthetic drug use, especially K2 use, is a dangerous and growing 
problem. Many states, including Iowa, have acted to ban the sale and 
possession of the chemical compounds found in these products. Many more 
states, counties and communities throughout the country have proposed 
bans or are in the process of banning these products. The DEA has 
administratively scheduled five chemicals found in K2. However, this 
ban will only last for one year with an option to extend the ban for an 
additional 6 months. There is no guarantee that the chemicals will be 
permanently banned in the timeframe allowed.
  It is time to stop the use and trafficking of these products before 
more tragedies occur. This is why I am pleased that my colleague, 
Senator Feinstein, is joining me in introducing the David Mitchell 
Rozga Act. Although David Rozga is one victim of many from these 
terrible drugs, his tragic death highlights the damaging nature of 
these substances and the great loss that they incur to our society. 
This legislation will take the chemicals the DEA has identified within 
K2 products and places them as Schedule I narcotics with other deadly 
drugs like meth and cocaine. The legislation will also amend the 
Controlled Substances Act, doubling the timeframe the Drug Enforcement 
Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services have to 
emergency schedule substances from 18 months to 36 months. This will 
allow for dangerous substances to be quickly removed from the market 
while being studied for permanent scheduling. I am grateful that the 
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, a group that represents more 
than 5,000 local community anti-drug coalitions throughout the nation, 
is endorsing this legislation to ban these dangerous synthetic drugs 
from our society.
  It is clear that the sale and use of synthetic drugs is a growing 
problem. People believe, like David Rozga believed, these products are 
safe because they can buy them online or at the nearest shopping mall. 
We need to do a better job at educating the public and our communities 
about the dangers these products present and nip this problem in the 
bud before it grows and leads to more tragedy. I urge my colleagues to 
join us in supporting this important legislation.
                                 ______