[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               H.R. 1254

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1254, the 
Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2011 because it will do little, if 
anything, to curb abuse of synthetic marijuana. It will, however, 
unnecessarily burden the criminal justice system and inhibit important 
scientific research on synthetic substances. It will also impose 
further unnecessary costs onto taxpayers as the federal criminal code 
is expanded.
  Evidence suggests that criminalizing substances, as this bill 
envisions, does not change demand or prevent health harms that stem 
from their use. The deaths and injuries that result from abuse of any 
substance and the destruction that drug abuse inflicts on our families 
and communities is heartbreaking. I support comprehensive drug 
education programs which promote clear information for children and 
adults about how to recognize drug abuse and the risk factors that 
promote it. It is important to recognize that drug abuse proliferates 
differently depending on the socioeconomic conditions that exist in a 
given community, which makes it all the more important for the federal 
government to assist state and local governments in addressing this 
public health problem. This bill does nothing to boost real public 
health and education awareness campaigns which must be a part of 
addressing substance abuse.
  Instead, H.R. 1254 would place a number of synthetic substances under 
Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. As Schedule I is the most 
restrictive, placing substances on it makes research on these 
substances vastly more difficult. Scientific researchers have warned 
Congress that this legislation will impede research on treatments for a 
range of diseases and disorders, including Parkinson's disease. In 
addition, the Drug Enforcement Agency already has the power to place 
substances on the Schedule I list.
  Finally, criminalization of another group of drugs will engender an 
expansion of the criminal justice regime. Our present system of 
criminal justice already places a far too large and disproportionate 
burden onto poor and minority communities. Marijuana arrests in the 
United States cost on average $10,000 per individual from arrest to 
adjudication, according to public policy researcher John B. Gettman at 
the George Mason University School of Public Policy. The prosecution 
and prison terms that will necessarily arise from enforcement of this 
bill will impose enormous costs on taxpayers at a time when resources 
are scant. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this 
legislation.

                          ____________________