[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1696-1699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SYNTHETIC DRUG USE

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in the fall of 2010 I came to this 
Chamber to speak about my growing concern of synthetic drug use in this 
country.
  Specifically, I raised concerns about a popular new drug known as K2, 
or Spice, and I learned about this myself for the first time because a 
constituent of mine by the name of David Rozga committed suicide. David 
killed himself shortly after smoking a package of the drug he and some 
friends bought at a local shopping mall.
  At the time, David's death in June 2010 was one of the first 
associated with what was a new and very dangerous drug craze. Nearly 2 
years after David's death, the use of synthetic drugs like K2 has 
exploded and is becoming a major problem across the country.
  In 2009 the American Association of Poison Centers reported only 13 
calls concerning synthetic drug use. One year later, in 2010, over 
1,300 calls were

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made to poison centers about synthetic drugs. So I have gone from 2009 
to 2010, and now 2011. We have gone from 13 to 1,300 to last year, 
12,000 calls to poison centers regarding synthetic drugs.
  The Monitoring the Future Survey, a survey of high school youth, 
asked students for the first time last year if they ever tried 
synthetic drugs. Roughly one in nine high school seniors responded they 
used synthetic drugs last year.
  These numbers are quite obviously an astonishing increase in just 2 
years and they illustrate, of course, how rapidly the use of these 
drugs has come on the scene. These drugs are having a terrible effect 
on those who use them. Emergency room doctors across the country are 
reporting increasing uses of synthetic drugs in the number of users 
coming to the hospital.
  My staff heard from one such doctor from upstate New York about what 
she has seen. Dr. Sandra Schneider, from Rochester, NY, reported that 
users in her ER experienced psychotic episodes, rapid heart rate, very 
high blood pressure, and seizures. In some cases, users--many of whom 
were in their teens and twenties--suffered heart attacks and strokes 
and died as a result. Other cases involved users who tried to kill 
themselves, harm others, or got into a car accident while high on these 
synthetic drugs.
  How do we get from practically no use to where we are now? The people 
who manufacture and sell these drugs have circumvented the laws to 
easily sell synthetic drugs online, at gas stations, in novelty stores 
at the local shopping malls, and in tobacco stores and other shops. 
Many of the drugs are manufactured overseas, in countries such as 
China, and then imported into the United States. They spray chemical 
compounds, that have not been tested on humans and were not intended 
for human consumption, on dried leaves. They package and market these 
drugs to appear as legitimate products such as incense, bath salts, 
plant food, and snow remover. They slap a label on these packages 
stating that the product is not for human consumption to get around FDA 
regulations.
  Over 30 States have passed laws to ban various synthetic drug 
compounds. The Drug Enforcement Administration has also acted to stop 
these drugs. Although the DEA has used its emergency scheduling powers 
to control seven chemical compounds, there are too many on the market 
now for DEA to go through the long and laborious process to schedule 
each and every one. The makers of these drugs know this as well and 
have altered their chemical formulas--some as little as a molecule--to 
get around existing State and Federal laws.
  This is exactly the case in my home State of Iowa. Iowa passed a law 
last year that banned many chemical compounds. However, the law only 
listed a specific set of chemical compounds and the drugmakers are now 
altering their formulas.
  Recently, two Iowa youths have become victims of the new drugs. One 
is a Polk County teenager who got into a high-speed crash smoking a 
product called 100 Percent Pure Evil.
  This teen had two other passengers in her car. After smoking this 
product the driver became agitated and stated she wanted to kill 
herself. She started driving her car into several trees. When 
paramedics arrived at the scene they reported that everyone was badly 
hurt and the driver was vomiting blood. Thankfully all passengers 
survived the crash.
  Another teen in central Iowa experienced a near-death experience 
after smoking the same product. This teen purchased the product--
remember the name, 100 Percent Pure Evil--purchased it at a local store 
and started convulsing and vomiting shortly after smoking the drug. 
Once a paramedic got this boy into the hospital he fell into a coma. 
He, however, awoke from the coma the next day but had failed to 
recognize his mother or grandmother at the hospital. Thankfully this 
boy has since recovered his memory. Now he suffers occasional anxiety 
attacks.
  When the boy's mother told the police about the product and where he 
got it, she reported that the police told her there was nothing they 
could do about it because it was not known what was in the product and 
it may be legal. This product is still being reviewed to see if any 
compounds fall under Iowa's law.
  Nearly a year ago I introduced this legislation we named after the 
person who died 2 years ago, David Rozga. I introduced this bill with 
Senator Feinstein. It bans the chemicals that comprise K2/Spice. We 
designed the legislation to capture a wide variety of compounds so it 
would not be so easy to circumvent this law by altering the molecule. 
In fact, the Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy is crafting 
new legislation based on the legislation I introduced last year that 
captures more substances. My legislation was unanimously passed out of 
the Judiciary Committee 8 months ago. It is currently being prevented 
from consideration by the full Senate by one Senator. The House of 
Representatives passed its version of the Synthetic Drug Control Act 
overwhelmingly last December, with over 70 percent of the 
Representatives supporting scheduling these drugs.
  Many of the opponents of this legislation stated on the House floor 
that by scheduling these compounds we are preventing scientific 
research. This is far from true. Any scheduled substance, even current 
Schedule I drugs such as cocaine and heroin, can be researched. Any 
scientist can apply to be registered by the DEA to research any drug. 
Just because we are removing the drugs from the store shelves does not 
mean we cannot study them.
  I say to my colleagues, it is now time for the Senate to take action. 
We cannot let the will of one Senator obstruct the will of many. I 
believe if our legislation received a vote and a fair debate in this 
body, it would pass overwhelmingly. So I urge my colleagues to support 
our efforts to get these drugs off the store shelves and off the 
streets, and I urge the Senate leadership to allow a debate and a vote 
on the issue. The American people, people such as the Rozga family and 
others who have been victims of these drugs, want to see this poison 
removed from their communities.
  I appreciate working together with the Senator from Minnesota and the 
Senator from New York on this bill and similar bills as well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to join my 
colleague, Senator Grassley of Iowa. I thank him for his remarks. I 
think you can tell this is a very important issue but also one that is 
bipartisan. As he pointed out with the vote on the House side, this was 
a bipartisan issue over there. It was bipartisan on the Judiciary 
Committee. We simply need to allow for a debate and a vote in a timely 
manner on these bills.
  I also know Senator Chuck Schumer from New York will be joining us, 
another senior member of the committee. We are all three on the 
Judiciary Committee, with Senator Grassley being the ranking Republican 
on the committee. So we have much support for this bill.
  Today I want to take a few minutes to add to the comments of Senator 
Grassley about the growing threat to people of all ages, but 
particularly to our young people, of the dangerous synthetic drugs that 
are becoming, sadly, more and more common in our communities.
  There have been reports from States around the country of people 
acting violently while under the influence of these drugs, leading to 
deaths or injuries to themselves or to others. While taking these 
drugs, people can experience elevated heart rates and blood pressure, 
hallucinations, seizures, and extreme agitation. They are very 
dangerous.
  These synthetic drugs have exploded as an issue in recent years. 
Until 2006 I was the county attorney for Hennepin County, which is 
Minnesota's largest county. It actually is about a fourth of our State 
in terms of the population. During that time two words I never heard 
were ``synthetic drugs.'' We were focused on crack, we were focused on

[[Page 1698]]

methamphetamine, we were focused on laws to contain that, but synthetic 
drugs were not something we talked about. It is an example of how 
quickly this drug has come on the scene. Poison control centers and 
emergency rooms from across the United States are reporting dramatic 
increases in the number of calls and visits relating to synthetic 
drugs. In 2011, poison control centers across America received more 
than 13,000 calls about synthetic drugs. Think about that. Do you know 
what the number was in 2010, a year before? It was 3,200; it was 3,200 
in 2010, 13,000 in 2011. In Minnesota there was a total of 392 calls to 
poison control relating to synthetic drugs in 2011, compared to 111 in 
2010, so you are seeing a four-times increase in our State and across 
the country in terms of the rise of this drug.
  A recent report by the National Institutes of Health shows that one 
in nine high school seniors admitted to using synthetic marijuana 
during this past year, so it is clearly a rapidly growing problem.
  This all hit home in my State with the tragic death of 19-year-old 
Trevor Robinson in Blaine, MN, who overdosed on a synthetic 
hallucinogen known as 2C-E. Last year another young man shot himself in 
our State under the influence of synthetic drugs. I can only imagine 
the pain and anguish their friends and families must feel. It is 
anguishing. This is a life-and-death issue. It is not something where 
we can put our head in the sand and pretend it is not happening. This 
is a new type of drug, it is a dangerous drug.
  We have begun to take action. We have to take action on both the 
State and Federal level and we are making progress on a few fronts. I 
introduced a bill which would add 2C-E, the drug that killed the young 
man in my State, and similar drugs to a list of banned substances so 
they will be treated in the same manner as other banned drugs that they 
mimic, such as heroin.
  I am also cosponsor of the bill Senator Grassley referenced and also 
Senator Schumer has another bill to ban other types of synthetic drugs. 
Basically one bans the bath salts, one is focused on synthetic 
marijuana, and my bill is on the synthetic hallucinogens. All three of 
these bills passed the Judiciary Committee in July and one has already 
passed the House with a very strong vote.
  Unfortunately, as Senator Grassley also mentioned, a hold has been 
placed on all three of the Senate bills by one Senator. That is 
extremely unfortunate. These drugs can kill, and if we do not take 
action they are going to become more and more prevalent and put more 
and more people at risk. We cannot wait around and let these important 
bills languish in procedural gridlock, especially because of one 
Senator.
  We are going to keep fighting here in the Senate until those laws get 
passed. We have seen in Minnesota, with the tragic story of Trevor 
Robinson, what these drugs can do and I for one do not want to see it 
happen again, not in my State, not anywhere in the country. I 
understand the Senator who is holding these bills has genuine and 
philosophical opposition and he deserves to be heard on his objections. 
My suggestion is that we come to an agreement so we can have a period 
of debate on these bills, a simple period of debate. This should not be 
a week-long debate. We can take the floor and speak to this issue and 
he can speak as long as he likes. We are not asking him to change his 
position. We want him to be heard but we simply want to have a period 
of debate and then a vote. That is what the Senate should be about.
  Luckily, the Drug Enforcement Administration is taking its own action 
and has temporarily banned some synthetic drugs, but most of the 
substances in these bills have not been banned, including all of the 
substances in my bill. On the State level, roughly 40 States have 
banned some synthetic drugs, including Minnesota, where a major law 
regarding synthetic drugs took effect in July. But that means that some 
States have not banned any of these drugs yet and some have banned only 
certain types, so people can go to other States to buy them legally or 
buy them on the Internet. That is one of the reasons we need this 
Federal law.
  Also, local law enforcement needs a strong ally in the Federal 
authorities as they try to turn the tide against synthetic drugs. 
Sadly, many of these instances I have seen in our State with synthetic 
drugs involve more rural communities--towns that may not have the 
ability to call in a bunch of lab technicians and experts to be able to 
testify about what type of synthetic drug it is. That is why, for the 
sake of that law community, it is important we get it on that Federal 
list and we also make it very clear it is banned. Passing a Federal law 
will help create a partnership and will send a strong message that we 
need to eradicate these substances.
  I do think we have made progress by raising awareness of this issue, 
which will lead to better education efforts, more vigilance by parents, 
and more attention by law enforcement. Now that the DEA has become more 
familiar with these substances, it will be better equipped to combat 
the problem. But the fact remains that the most important thing we can 
do on the Federal level is to pass these three bills that have already 
been approved unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. These bills won't 
solve the problem overnight, but they are the first step we need to 
take, and we need to do it now. Before we lose more kids, before these 
drugs spread any further, let's pass these bills. As I mentioned, it is 
estimated that one in nine high school seniors has tried synthetic 
marijuana. I don't want to wake up a year from now and read that it has 
increased to one in seven or one in five. Let's have a debate. Let's 
hear what the objections are, and then let's pass these bills. I really 
think we can save lives. While there is still time to catch up, we 
should be doing everything we can to address these problems.
  I thank my colleagues, Senator Grassley, the ranking Republican 
Senator from Iowa on the Judiciary Committee, who has already spoken, 
and Senator Chuck Schumer from New York, who is a senior member of the 
Judiciary Committee. We are doing this as a team. We think it is very 
important that you, Mr. President, and the rest of the Senate have the 
opportunity to vote on these bills and have the opportunity to debate 
them. We hope we can achieve this goal procedurally so we can move 
forward in the way we are supposed to.
  I yield the floor. I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from New York.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today I rise to join my colleagues, 
Senator Klobuchar and Senator Grassley, to discuss an epidemic 
overtaking our country: synthetic drugs. I wish to compliment both of 
my colleagues. Each of us has been working on this issue in different 
ways, and we combined our three approaches into one piece of 
legislation that will go a long way toward helping to keep our kids 
away from drugs they should not have.
  Synthetic drugs are an epidemic overtaking our country. They are also 
known as bath salts or, in the case of manmade marijuana, spice or 
incense. They are given innocent names, but they are deadly. Synthetic 
drugs are not sold on street corners by slingers who keep stashes 
hidden in alleys. Instead, these drugs can be found in local corner 
stores across the country. They are as easy to buy as a lollipop or a 
carton of milk, but they are much more dangerous.
  No wonder emergency rooms and poison control centers have seen an 
enormous rise in patients who have taken these drugs and must seek 
help. The numbers are nothing short of eye-popping. Poison control 
centers reported 13 calls concerning these products in 2009, over 1,000 
calls in 2010, and over 6,500 in 2011--from 13 calls to over 6,500 
calls in 2 years. For every call they

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get, there are many people taking these drugs with no call at all. One 
survey, in fact, indicates that one in nine high school seniors used 
synthetic drugs in the past year. That is a frightening, astounding, 
and devastating number.
  The Senate has before it a rare opportunity to do something simple 
and right that will actually go a very long way to fixing this crisis. 
We have three bills--Senator Klobuchar's, my colleague from Minnesota, 
Senator Grassley's, my colleague from Iowa, and mine--that would place 
the chemical components that make up these substances directly on 
schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act without waiting for the DEA 
to go through its yearlong listing process. Our communities desperately 
need us to make these drug compounds illegal once and for all. The DEA 
wants us to go ahead and make them illegal, and so does the FDA. There 
is no legitimate or commercial use for these compounds.
  Our bills passed out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously and with 
no opposition. The House passed its version of our bills with little 
opposition. All we have to do now is put them on the floor and have a 
vote or simply pass them unanimously. But one of my colleagues has put 
a hold on these bills--just one. That is fine. I am in favor of 
protecting my colleague's rights, as they are my rights and Senator 
Klobuchar's and Senator Grassley's rights. But one Senator should not 
be able to prevent a vote on something that 99 percent of Americans 
want that directly affects their health and safety and the health and 
safety of their children. So I have a suggestion. Why can't we at least 
put these bills on the floor, and our colleague can air his opposition 
and see if he can win people over to his point of view? This really 
should not take more than an hour or two of our business.
  Law enforcement and health professionals are begging for this bill. I 
know for a fact that parents and families in my State are begging for 
this to become law. A lot of us have worked hard on this issue because 
it is of critical importance to our communities and States.
  Before I go any further, I again want to compliment and commend my 
colleagues, Senators Klobuchar and Grassley, as well as Senator 
Feinstein, who is not here with us this afternoon, for their excellent 
leadership on banning these so-called designer drugs.
  On Monday I was in Rochester, NY, to discuss Senator Grassley's 
synthetic marijuana bill with local law enforcement and emergency room 
doctors. I heard horrific stories of patients who smoked synthetic 
marijuana and ended up crazed in the emergency room. Everyone I met 
with urged me to help ban these substances as soon as possible.
  My own bill, the Combating Dangerous Synthetic Stimulants Act, bans 
two more of these drugs, mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone--
fortunately, it is regularly known as MDPV--and they are commonly sold 
as bath salts. By calling them bath salts, manufacturers are trying to 
deliberately mislead people into thinking they are an everyday product. 
It is despicable when young kids--14, 15, 16 years old--try bath salts 
and they think it is harmless. These dangerous drugs are sold in 
convenience stores and smoke shops for as little as $14 to $40. And 
what are their names? Tranquility, Zoom, White Lightning, and Hurricane 
Charlie. These so-called bath salts or plant foods are nothing more 
than deadly narcotics, and they are being sold cheaply to all comers 
with no questions asked at store counters around the country. How is it 
possible that such deadly drugs are legal? Because by marketing them as 
bath salts, which aren't for human consumption, they aren't regulated. 
These bath salts have much the same effects, according to users, as 
cocaine or ecstasy, but they are preferred because they are cheaper and 
more readily accessible. In fact, according to court papers obtained by 
the Staten Island Advance, one of our fine local papers in New York, a 
seller in Brooklyn boasted to a Federal agent that the bath salts would 
deliver a better high than cocaine.
  This ease of access does not, however, translate into their safe use. 
A recent New York Times article reported that an individual high on 
bath salts had climbed a roadside flagpole and jumped into traffic, 
broken into a monastery and stabbed a priest, and scratched herself to 
pieces because something was under her skin.
  One of these drugs, Cloud 9, is so easily accessible it is sold on 
amazon.com. A person can go on amazon.com and buy this horrible stuff. 
How much? Sixteen dollars, plus shipping. It is accessible to anybody. 
Can my colleagues guess what item most customers buy with this specific 
bath salt? Is it relaxing candles or lotion? Is it soap? No. The item 
customers most buy with this bath salt is Click N Smoke all In One 
Vaporizer With Wind Proof Torch Lighter. That is the name of the 
product. One does not need much of an imagination to believe that the 
purchasers of Cloud 9 are smoking these drugs and not adding them to a 
relaxing bath.
  These drugs are the worst kind. Not only do they cause people to 
perform horrible actions, but they also give the impression that they 
are legal, that they are innocuous. Make no mistake that these drugs 
can and will cause harm to their users. At least 30 States, including 
my home State of New York, have recognized these drugs as harmful. They 
have banned bath salts at the State level. But only the DEA--the Drug 
Enforcement Agency--and the resources that are behind it can keep these 
drugs from coming into our country, from crossing State lines, and from 
morphing time and again to evade State bans. That is why we need these 
bills.
  The DEA temporarily banned two of these substances in November. 
However, the clock is now ticking until this temporary ban ends. FDA 
and HHS must complete a complicated checklist in the remaining 7 months 
to prevent these drugs from returning to the corner store.
  We must provide the DEA with a permanent ban before the time runs 
out. This will provide them with the necessary tools to address these 
legal drugs on a national stage. The DEA has the ability to spearhead 
multi-State and international investigations to prevent the manufacture 
and sale of bath salts.
  These drugs are deadly and dangerous. Yet they are easier to buy than 
cigarettes in many States. Parents should not worry that each time 
their child goes into a convenience store or gas station, he or she can 
buy a deadly drug.
  This bill has broad bipartisan support. We cannot wait for another 
parent to lose a child because of the inaction of the Senate. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to pass the legislation. Once 
again, I implore my colleague--the single Senator who is holding up 
this bill--I hope he will not agree to set aside his differences, which 
come from a deep Libertarian ideological perspective that is different 
than most Americans have, but agree not to block them but to debate 
them and let them come up for a vote.
  I thank the Chair.
  I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cardin). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a 
colloquy with my Republican colleagues for up to 30 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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