Political Quotes

“I am pleased to introduce the Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2015, with my colleagues, Senators Kelly Ayotte, Richard Blumenthal, Barbara Boxer, Amy Klobuchar, Rob Portman, Charles Schumer, Jeanne Shaheen and Sheldon Whitehouse. This legislation addresses the significant harm that synthetic drugs cause our communities. When Congress outlawed several synthetic drugs in 2012, traffickers did not stop producing them. Instead, they slightly altered the drugs' chemical structure to skirt the law, producing ``controlled substance analogues'' which are dangerous, chemically similar to Schedule I substances, and mimic the effects of drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, PCP, and LSD. Manufacturers of synthetic drugs often prey upon youth, selling products such as Scooby Snax, Potpourri, and Joker Herbal. But make no mistake: these products are dangerous. In the first ten months of 2014 alone, poison centers nationwide responded to approximately 3,900 calls related to synthetic drugs. Under current law, determining whether a substance meets the vague legal criteria of a ``controlled substance analogue'' results in a ``battle of experts'' inside the courtroom. Significantly, a substance ruled to be an analogue in one case is not automatically an analogue in a second case. The Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetics Drug Act addresses these issues.…”