On the recordDecember 7, 2011
I am pleased to support H.R. 1254, the Synthetic Drug Control Act. This bill enjoys bipartisan support and is aimed to eliminate commercial availability of harmful synthetic narcotics. Under this proposal, hallucinogenic drugs would no longer be able to hide behind misleading aliases. During committee consideration, I was quite alarmed to hear some of the stories shared by the bill's sponsor, Representative Charlie Dent, as well as other Members. Around the country, constituents have been able to utilize synthetic products to the detriment of their mental and physical health and, in some cases, costing them their lives. Unfortunately, these imitation drugs are not illegal, and there is a critical need to strengthen the Federal Government's ability to keep these harmful and dangerous drugs off the street. The Synthetic Drug Control Act adds specific synthetic versions of drugs of abuse to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. These designer drugs mimic some of the effects of drugs such as marijuana and can be very unsafe, causing convulsions, anxiety attacks, and dangerously elevated heart rates, among other conditions. Under current authority, the Drug Enforcement Agency has difficulty taking action against these drugs because they've been designed to fall outside existing statutory descriptions of Schedule I drugs. H.R.…
