SENATOR COLLINS COSPONSORS LEGISLATION TO BAN DANGEROUS SYNTHETIC DRUG
Washington, D.C. - In a continuing effort to address a growing crisis, U.S. Senator Susan Collins has cosponsored legislation that would ban the sale of synthetic marijuana and other drug-like products that can be used to make “bath salts.” Known as the “David Mitchell Rozga Act,” named for an 18-year old from Iowa who took his own life in 2010, this bill would ban chemicals used to make a dangerous drug known as “K2” or “Spice.” Some of these same chemicals are also used to make bath salts.
“Quite simply, these chemicals are dangerous and do not belong on store shelves,” said Senator Collins. “I am deeply concerned with the terrible effects of these chemicals on people in Maine, and across the country. The longer we wait to seriously address this issue, the more people we put at risk. Congress must take action.”
This legislation, which has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would take the chemicals the Drug Enforcement Agency has identified within synthetic marijuana products and place them as Schedule I narcotics, thus treating them like other banned narcotics such as methamphetamine and cocaine.
Senator Collins has said that the bath salt crisis is a “national threat that requires national action.” She has also cosponsored legislation that would require better coordination between federal and local law enforcement agencies that are targeting the spread of synthetic drugs, like “bath salts.” This bill would require the Office of National Drug Control Policy to work closely with the Department of Justice on a report detailing a coordinated strategy. In addition, she has cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would make the synthetic chemicals used to make bath salts illegal throughout the United States. The “Combating Dangerous Synthetic Stimulants Act” would ban mephedrone and MDPV under the federal Controlled Substances Act as drugs that have no legitimate medical value and a high potential for abuse.
“Quite simply, these chemicals are dangerous and do not belong on store shelves,” said Senator Collins. “I am deeply concerned with the terrible effects of these chemicals on people in Maine, and across the country. The longer we wait to seriously address this issue, the more people we put at risk. Congress must take action.”
This legislation, which has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would take the chemicals the Drug Enforcement Agency has identified within synthetic marijuana products and place them as Schedule I narcotics, thus treating them like other banned narcotics such as methamphetamine and cocaine.
Senator Collins has said that the bath salt crisis is a “national threat that requires national action.” She has also cosponsored legislation that would require better coordination between federal and local law enforcement agencies that are targeting the spread of synthetic drugs, like “bath salts.” This bill would require the Office of National Drug Control Policy to work closely with the Department of Justice on a report detailing a coordinated strategy. In addition, she has cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would make the synthetic chemicals used to make bath salts illegal throughout the United States. The “Combating Dangerous Synthetic Stimulants Act” would ban mephedrone and MDPV under the federal Controlled Substances Act as drugs that have no legitimate medical value and a high potential for abuse.
