On the recordDecember 7, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor and a strong supporter of this bill. The spread of synthetic drugs like bath salts has quickly reached crisis levels in many communities throughout our country. This year in Maine, the Bangor Police Department has responded to hundreds of bath salts-related incidents. In October, I organized a meeting of local, county, State, and Federal law enforcement officials to discuss the spread of bath salts in our State. The message they shared with me was clear, and the message they shared with the ONDCP Deputy Director Ben Tucker was also clear: We need to give our law enforcement officers more tools to combat this epidemic. While Maine has banned bath salts, a national law will build upon that good work and help make this a bigger impact all across the country. So I urge my colleagues to support the Synthetic Drug Act.
