Christine Watkins - Club Drugs

Legislation Is Needed to Ban Synthetic Club Drugs

Charles E. Grassley

Charles E. Grassley, a member of the Republican Party, is the senior US senator from Iowa and the co-chairman of the Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

More and more young people todayincluding members of the militaryare buying and using drugs that are innocently marketed as incense, spice, or bath salts, but which are, in fact, sprayed with powerful and dangerous chemicals. The use of these new synthetic drugs can cause serious health effects, such as hallucinations, paranoia, and racing heart beat; users have also been known to harm other people and even kill themselves. Because these synthetic drugs can be easily purchased in stores or online, legislation is necessary to ban the chemical compounds associated with the products so they can be removed from the market.

D rugs disguised and marketed as harmless products such as incense, bath salts or even plant food are rapidly gaining in popularity among Americas youth. These products are combined with powerful and potent synthetic drugs and stimulants that reportedly mimic the effects of other dangerous and illegal drugs. These drugs have been sold in mainstream convenience stores, shopping malls, gas stations, and on several internet websites. Popular brand names for these products include: K2, Spice, Ivory Wave, Red Dove, and Vanilla Sky among many others. According to several news reports, many people who use these products often cite the fact that they can get these products easily by going to the nearest store or simply purchasing them online. The ease with which these products are available and the fact that they are not completely banned in this country may lead users to believe that using these products is nothing more than harmless fun. It is now clear that using these products is anything but harmless.

Synthetic Drugs Cause Serious Health Effects

According to a statement from Dr. Anthony Scalzo, who is the Medical Director of the Missouri Poison Center and Director of Toxicology at Saint Louis University, these products cause serious health effects including symptoms such as: racing heart beat, elevated blood pressure, hallucinations, anxiety, agitation and significant delusions and paranoia. Dr. Scalzo also describes cases where patients have become dependent on these drugs and where users have seriously harmed themselves, committed crimes, and harmed others while high on these substances.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man after he tried to throw his girlfriend off an 11th floor balcony after smoking K2.

Dr. Scalzo also adds that U.S. poison control centers are reporting skyrocketing calls regarding these drugs. According to Dr. Scalzos statement, poison centers reported over 2,800 calls concerning synthetic marijuana known as K2 or Spice. As of March 22nd [2011], there have already been over 1,200 calls to poison control centers concerning synthetic marijuana products this year alone. That means were on pace to have over 4,800 calls for 2011, which would be nearly a 60% increase. Further, poison control centers have taken over 1,200 calls so far this year concerning bath salts use. This is more than a 400% increase from all calls received concerning bath salts in 2010. These numbers dont paint the whole picture of the extent of the use of these products, but they do illustrate that more people are using these products and experiencing serious effects....

The armed forces are also experiencing increasing cases of synthetic drug use. It was with sadness and concern that I recently read about K2 being used by members in the armed services and at the service academies. According to a recent article in the Navy Times, 16 sailors serving on the U.S.S. Bataan were recently discharged for using Spice. The U.S.S. Bataan has since been deployed to Libya short these sailors. The article further states that 151 sailors Navy-wide had been accused of using or caught with Spice over the last four months. The U.S. Naval Academy also recently expelled at least 7 midshipmen for using or selling Spice. The use of these drugs among our men and women serving in the armed forces is especially concerning from an operational and readiness standpoint while our armed services are still engaged in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beginning operations in Libya.

According to various news articles across the nation, synthetic drug use can cause serious erratic and criminal behavior. In Mooresville, Indiana, police arrested a group of teens after they were connected to a string of burglaries while high on K2. Another case in Honolulu, Hawaii, shows police arrested a 23-year-old man after he tried to throw his girlfriend off an 11th floor balcony after smoking K2. A 14-year-old boy in Missouri nearly threw himself out of a 5th story window after smoking K2. Once the teen got over his high he denied having any suicidal intentions. Doctors believe he was hallucinating at the time of this incident.

Death Can Result from Synthetic Drug Use

Synthetic drug use also has deadly consequences. This past June [2010] a young constituent of mine, named David Rozga... , was a recent graduate of Indianola High School in Indianola, Iowa. David committed suicide shortly after smoking a packet of K2. David and his friends purchased K2 at an area shopping mall thinking it could not have been dangerous if you could get it at the mall.... David Rozga may have been the first person in the U.S. to have died from using these products, but tragically he has not been the last.

News articles from across the country are reporting deaths as a result of synthetic drug use. A month after Davids tragic death police report that a 28-year-old Middletown, Indiana, mother of two passed away after smoking a lethal dose of K2. This womans godson reported that anyone could get K2 easily because it can be sold to anybody at any price at any time. This last August, a recent 19-year-old Lake Highlands High School graduate in Dallas, Texas, passed away after smoking K2. The medical examiner confirmed that this boy had K2 in his system at the time of his death. A man in Louisiana slit his throat and shot himself while hallucinating on bath salts last year. Another case in Louisiana occurred last year when a 21-year-old man suffered for three days after smoking bath salts. This man slit his throat while hallucinating. Although he missed major arteries he was still under the influence of the drug. When his dad, who was a medical doctor and treating him, fell asleep, his son went into another room and shot himself. Even more disturbing is the involvement of synthetic drugs in a recent school shooting that occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, last January. Robert Butler Jr. shot and killed himself and Dr. Vicki Kaspar, the assistant principal at the school. Doctors have confirmed that Robert Butler had K2 in his system at the time of the shooting.

Legislation Is Needed to Ban Synthetic Drugs

These incidents Ive described only scratch the surface of the growing abuse and tragedy synthetic drugs are having on this nation. All of us on this panel [Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control] are deeply concerned about the continued availability of these drugs. Chairman [Dianne] Feinstein and I recently introduced legislation, named after David Rozga, to ban the chemical compounds the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] has identified within K2/Spice products. The legislation will also amend the Controlled Substances Act, doubling the timeframe the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services have to emergency schedule substances from 18 months to 36 months. This will allow for dangerous substances to be quickly removed from the market while being studied for permanent scheduling. Senator [Charles E.] Schumer and Representative [Charles] Dent of Pennsylvania have also introduced legislation to schedule synthetic drugs like bath salts and other products.