ULSTER COUNTY KIDS ARE GETTING SICK AFTER SMOKING DANGEROUS TYPE OF SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA, NEW FORM OF PRODUCT CALLED “SPICE,” THAT IS STILL LEGAL DESPITE EFFORTS TO CURTAIL USE – SCHUMER URGES FEDS TO PROHIBIT SALE OF NEW, DANGEROUS SYNTHETICS
Feds Banned Over 20 Chemical Substances Used in Synthetic Drugs in 2012,
But Synthetic Drug Makers Are Skirting Around Law By Packaging & Selling
New Combinations Sold Under Established Brand Names Like “Spice”
and “Skunk”; Synthetic Drugs Have Sent Ulster Kids To The
Hospital & Sickened Hundreds Across The Country
chumer Bill Passed in 2012 Gave DEA The Power To Investigate & Ban
Many Synthetic Drug Combinations, But There Are Still Hundreds of Hazardous
Substances Not On The Banned List – Schumer Urges DEA To Speed Up
Investigation & Ban Synthetic Drugs That Are Making Kids Sick, Also
Pushes To Pass Bill That Would Make Banning Synthetic Drugs Easier
Schumer: Synthetic Drugs Continue To Put Our Kids In Danger & New
Chemical Combinations Must Be Made Illegal
Last week, at the City of Kingston Police Department, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to add new synthetic drug chemical combinations that have emerged over the past couple of years, and have made Ulster County kids sick, to its list of banned controlled substances. Schumer said that despite efforts to limit synthetic drugs, synthetic marijuana and other hazardous drug-like products are still being sold online and on store shelves. These drugs can lead to seizures, hallucinations, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and panic attacks, as well as dangerous and erratic behavior, which is why Schumer sponsored and passed a bill in 2012 that enhanced the DEA's enforcement power to ban many forms of these chemicals and give DEA the authority to ban new ones that emerge. Schumer said that the DEA currently has identified around 300 unique synthetic drug chemicals, but they have not yet added the majority of them to their list of controlled substances. Schumer urged the DEA to add these chemicals to their controlled substances list quickly, as the problem is re-emerging in Ulster and throughout the country. Schumer also pushed a bill he has co-sponsored that will help crack down on new synthetic chemical compounds that are likely to emerge in coming years, which is critical to combating the growing threat posed by these dangerous drugs.
“Despite efforts to crack down on synthetic drugs, this recent uptick throughout the country and in the Hudson Valley shows that these horrible chemical compounds are far from being in the rear-view mirror,” said Schumer. “Statistics show that synthetic drug use is on an upswing, and that is largely because synthetic drug makers are skirting around restrictions that have been put in place by developing new, dangerous chemical compounds that are not yet regulated. As a result, more and more kids are ending up in the emergency room, and it is time for federal law to catch up.”
Schumer continued, “I helped pass legislation in 2012 that gave the DEA enhanced authority to ban new synthetic drugs, but they are currently researching about 300 different chemicals to decide whether they should be added to the controlled substances list. For the sake of Ulster kids and families, we cannot afford to wait any longer. That is why I am urging the DEA to quickly ban these chemicals, and any substances similar in nature to those that are already banned so that we can stem the tide of synthetic drug use that is rising again.”
Synthetic drugs are a toxic combination of chemicals made to mimic 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana. Schumer explained that these drugs are very powerful and often come with severe side effects because they are powerful chemicals that are not tested for safety. These drugs are often made to seem inviting and harmless – sold under names like “plant good,” “incense,” “spice,” etc. – but in actuality they are dangerous chemical concoctions, and this false advertising lures users in. According to the Congressional Research Service, the effects of synthetic drugs ranges from nausea to drug-induced psychosis, making the harmful nature of the drugs unpredictable and making them unsafe for human consumption.
Schumer explained that, between the years 2009 and 2012, synthetic drug abuse was on the rise. As a result, Schumer helped to pass the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 that banned many forms of these chemicals and enhanced DEA authority to ban new ones that emerge. As part of the legislation, Congress used its legislative authority to place over 20 chemical compounds that had been used in synthetic marijuana and other synthetic drugs into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the classification for the most dangerous drugs. The legislation gave DEA enhanced authority to temporarily place uncontrolled substances that pose an imminent hazard to public safety, like these synthetic chemicals, into Schedule I of the CSA.
After passing the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act, synthetic drug usage
declined, however, according to data from the American Association of
Poison Control Centers, synthetic drug use is back on the rise again in
2014, with human exposures this year projected to far outpace the number
of exposures in 2013. Schumer said that this startling increase, that
is taking place despite the federal crack-down, can largely be attributed
to synthetic drug retailers and makers who are now developing synthetic
drugs with new chemical compounds that are not currently on the DEA’s
controlled substance list. Schumer said the DEA is currently investigating
approximately 300 of these compounds
, which have been found in synthetic drugs across the country, but the DEA
has yet to add the majority of them to the list of controlled substances.
Therefore, given the recent incident in Westchester and the rise in synthetic
drug usage across the country, Schumer is calling on the DEA to act quickly
in banning more of the nearly 300 dangerous chemical compounds on its
list that are used to make synthetic drugs before the problem becomes
more rampant. Schumer said that his 2012 legislation enhanced the DEA’s
authority to ban these chemicals and they must act quicker to stem this
tide of new cases.
Schumer also said that even though New York State issued a public health regulation making it illegal to manufacture, distribute, sell or offer to sell synthetic cannabinoids or any compound that has a chemical structure that is substantially similar to psychoactive chemicals, teens and young people can just as easily purchase synthetic drugs out of state or on the Internet with little to no consequence. With this rapid increase, and enhanced availability, in synthetic drug usage, Schumer is asking that the DEA to prioritize using its emergency scheduling authority under the Controlled Substances Act to make illegal as many dangerous chemical compounds as possible. Schumer said that the federal government must do what it can to keep these harmful compounds off the street and out of the hands of young people.
Schumer also pushed for the passage of the Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2013. This bill was introduced in July of 2013, with Schumer as an original co-sponsor, and is designed to further combat synthetic drugs. Schumer explained that this legislation, authored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would make it illegal to import controlled substance analogues—or alternative hazardous synthetic drugs — for human consumption and establish an inter-agency committee of scientists and the DEA responsible for the establishment and maintenance of an administrative list of controlled substance analogues. Schumer said that synthetic drug makers will continue to try to produce chemical compounds that skirt around federal law, and as a result, legislation like this is needed to provide the DEA with more authority to prevent new synthetics that are bound to crop up in the years to come.
Schumer was joined by Ulster County Executive Mike Hein; Chief Egidic Tinti, Chief of Police, City of Kingston; Shayne Gallo, Mayor, City of Kingston; and Ulster County Department of Health Staff.
“Synthetic marijuana presents a real danger to our children,” said Ulster County Executive Mike Hein. “I applauded Senator Schumer back in 2012 when his efforts led the DEA to ban many of the chemicals used to manufacture this dangerous drug; however, unscrupulous drug manufacturers have developed new chemicals and are again putting our children at risk, which is something we simply can not ignore. I want to thank Senator Schumer for his steadfast leadership and for bringing this issue back to Washington to ensure that children across the country are shielded from the dangers inherent to synthetic marijuana.”
Schumer’s push to ban these new synthetic drug compounds comes in light of an incident just this month where six Pleasantville High School students were sickened and three were rushed to the hospital after smoking a synthetic marijuana called “spice.” Schumer also noted that over the course of four days this summer 15 New York City residents were hospitalized following synthetic marijuana use, which led to the city’s Department of Health issuing a warning to stay away from synthetic drug products. Schumer also noted that a Dutchess County woman was recently arrested attempting to smuggle synthetic marijuana into a Downstate Correctional Facility.
Senator Schumer’s letter to the DEA Administrator appears below:
Dear Administrator Leonhart,
I write to you today to address a pervasive issue that has continued to harm local communities throughout my home state of New York. Despite our efforts, synthetic drugs, extremely dangerous chemical compounds with harmful effects, are still marketed and sold to children and young adults. Working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2012, Congress used its legislative authority to place over 20 chemical compounds that had been used in synthetic marijuana and other synthetic drugs into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 811, the Attorney General has the authority (which has been delegated to the DEA Administrator) to temporarily place an uncontrolled substance into Schedule I of the CSA if it is deemed to present an imminent hazard to public safety. Congress also expanded this emergency scheduling authority to more quickly ban new combinations that may be used to similar effect, and I am thankful that since that time, the DEA has used this authority over twenty times.
Unfortunately, criminals have continued to create new chemical formulas that have not yet been listed as controlled substances under the CSA. Additionally, while the sale of analogue substances marketed as brand names such as “Spice” or “K2” has been banned in some states, including New York, this has not stopped them from popping up in stores across the country. New York City is particularly emblematic of the increasing frequency of emergency department visits related to synthetic drugs, where there has been a 220 percent increase in the past year. And just this September, three Westchester high school students ended up in the hospital after using synthetic drugs.
With this rapid increase of synthetic drug usage, I ask that the DEA prioritize using your emergency scheduling authority under the Controlled Substances Act to make illegal as many dangerous chemical compounds as possible. The federal government must do what it can to keep these harmful compounds of the street and out of the hands of our citizens.
I thank you for your attention to this important matter, and look forward to working with you to prevent the sale and distribution of these harmful chemicals.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator