Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1254 was introduced by my friend and colleague from Pennsylvania, Representative Charlie Dent, in response to a frightening trend of synthetic drug use in our communities. These synthetic drug substitutes, made from chemical compounds that are sold legally in most States, mimic the hallucinogenic and stimulant properties of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines. While these synthetic drugs are just as dangerous as their traditional counterparts, they are not illegal. Many families and young people in our communities do not realize the destructiveness of these synthetic drugs because of their legal status and their wide availability and often harmless-sounding names such as ``Bath Salts'' and ``Plant Food,'' both cocaine substitutes. H.R. 1254 would, first, ban synthetic drugs that imitate marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines; and, second, allow the Drug Enforcement Administration to temporarily schedule a new substance for up to 3 years. Currently, DEA can only temporarily schedule a substance for up to 18 months. I would like to thank Congressman Dent for working with the DEA on this important issue, and I would urge my colleagues to support this commonsense and bipartisanly supported legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.”