[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4255-4256]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              NATIONAL YOUTH SYNTHETIC DRUG AWARENESS WEEK

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Klobuchar 
in cosponsoring a resolution designating the week of March 9, 2014, as 
National Youth Synthetic Drug Awareness Week. The abuse of synthetic 
drugs has grown rapidly in a very short amount of time. Calls into 
poison control centers concerning synthetic marijuana, also known as 
``K2,'' doubled between 2010 and 2011 and remained elevated throughout 
2012. Emergency room visits connected to synthetic marijuana use more 
than doubled, to 28,000 visits, from 2010 to 2011. In addition, other 
synthetic drugs commonly known as ``bath salts'' produced over 22,000 
emergency room admissions.
  The serious symptoms associated with synthetic drug use range from 
rapid heart rate, psychosis, and agitation which may lead to suicide, 
cardiac arrest, or organ failure. In 2010, a constituent of mine named 
David Rozga committed suicide shortly after ingesting ``K2'' with his 
friends. After smoking the drug, David became highly agitated. His 
friends calmed him down, and he decided to go home. Not long afterward, 
however, he committed suicide. David's death was one of the first in 
the United States attributed to synthetic drug use.
  I worked with Senators Klobuchar, Schumer, and Feinstein, along with 
many others, to place many of these terrible drugs on the list of 
Schedule I controlled substances. I am grateful that the Senate and the 
House worked together to pass the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act 
of 2012. Our efforts were an important step in allowing the Drug 
Enforcement Administration to begin enforcement actions against those 
who are poisoning our communities.
  However, new synthetic drugs have emerged since the passage of that 
law. In fact, the Drug Enforcement Administration has moved to 
administratively place an additional 17 chemical compounds on the list 
of schedule I narcotics in recent months. Included among these drugs is 
a compound called 5F-PB-22, which was blamed for the deaths of three 
young Iowans last year. Moreover, in just the past few days, police in 
Iowa have arrested six people and raided multiple stores in the Des 
Moines area for selling synthetic drugs. These tragic deaths and 
arrests of those pushing these substances underscore the ongoing need 
to raise awareness of these deadly drugs.
  The good news is that people, including in my home State of Iowa, are 
fighting back against the scourge of synthetic drugs. The Rozga family 
has been active in sharing David's story. They have also started a Web 
site, K2drugfacts.com, which creates a forum for other parents, 
friends, and people who have survived terrifying experiences with 
synthetic drugs to share their stories and spread the word that these 
drugs are destructive. Other antidrug organizations and coalitions are 
raising public awareness in Iowa. For example, a local community group 
in Johnson County, Iowa called Iowans

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Against Synthetics has raised synthetic drug awareness throughout that 
county.
  The National Youth Synthetic Drug Awareness Week resolution 
encourages other individuals and organizations throughout the country 
to continue their efforts to raise awareness about the deadliness of 
these drugs. I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
resolution.

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