[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 113 (Friday, July 6, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E977-E978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 449 SYNTHETIC DRUG AWARENESS ACT OF 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 6, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 449, 
the Synthetic Drug

[[Page E978]]

Awareness Act of 2017, which requires the Surgeon General to report to 
Congress on the public health effects of the increased use since 
January 2010 by individuals who are 12 to 18 years old of drugs 
developed and manufactured to avoid control under the Controlled 
Substances Act.
  The term synthetic drug means a drug which is developed and 
manufactured to avoid control under the Controlled Substances Act.
  There are more than 200 identified synthetic drug compounds and more 
than 90 different synthetic drug marijuana compounds.
  Many of these synthetic drugs are made in foreign countries and then 
smuggled into the United States.
  These clandestinely-made drugs have no manufacturing safety standards 
that are normally required by the Food and Drug Administration.
  Synthetic opioids have surpassed prescription opioids as the most 
common drug class involved in overdose deaths in the United States.
  According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl-related 
deaths nationwide are up from previous years by 73 percent.
  Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid created using man-made chemical 
components rather than naturally occurring ingredients, is 50-100 times 
more potent than morphine.
  Overall, drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl-type drugs in the 
United States rose from about 3,000 in 2010 to more than 19,400 in 
2016.
  The rate of teen drug overdose deaths in the United States climbed 19 
percent from 2014 to 2015, from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 teens to 3.7 per 
100,000.
  The number of American teens to die of a drug overdose leapt by 
almost a fifth in 2015 after seven years of decline.
  The opioid epidemic claimed more than 52,000 lives in 2015.
  In Texas, Synthetic opioids account for almost one-fifth of drug 
related overdoses.
  In 2016, there were 1,375 opioid-related overdose deaths in Texas 
specifically, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
  Last year, 364 drug-related overdose deaths happened in Houston.
  Synthetic marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin top the 
list of drug-related problems in the Houston area.
  Geographically, death rates from overdoses involving synthetic 
opioids increased in 21 states, with 10 states doubling their rates 
from 2016 to 2017.
  No area of the United States is exempt from this epidemic--we all 
know a friend, family member or loved one devastated by opioids.
  H.R. 449 is a positive step in the right direction, I urge my 
colleagues to vote Yes on H.R. 449, the Synthetic Drug Awareness Act of 
2017.

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