Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act with my colleague Senator Chuck Grassley. This legislation addresses the…
Mr. President, I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act with my colleague Senator Chuck Grassley. This legislation addresses the significant challenges associated with prosecuting those who manufacture and traffic deadly synthetic drugs, including synthetic opioids, like clandestinely produced fentanyl, and synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones.
Synthetic drugs pose an increasing threat to our Nation. They hit our communities in cycles and cause devastation. For example, in Corpus Christi, TX, there were 31 EMS calls in 1 day related to synthetic drugs. In Syracuse, NY, 18 individuals were taken to the emergency room in a 24-hour period after taking synthetic marijuana, and in Cincinnati, OH, a shocking 174 overdoses occurred over 6 days. These overdoses were largely attributed to heroin laced with carfentanil, a synthetic opioid that is 100,000 times stronger than morphine.
In 2012, Congress outlawed many synthetic drugs, but manufacturers did not stop producing them. Instead, they began producing controlled substance analogues which mimic the effects of controlled substances, such as opioids, marijuana, PCP, and LSD.
The new drug, even though it has an effect on the body that is similar to a controlled substance, may no longer be illegal under Federal law because it is not listed in one of the five schedules of the Controlled Substances Act. Consequently, these drugs are shipped to our country and marketed as legal alternatives to illegal drugs.
This makes enforcement efforts difficult.
Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are deadly. Since 2015, 130 deaths have been linked to the drug in the Bay area of California. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 15,000 deaths in 2015 involved synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl. That is equivalent to 42 deaths per day.
Like other synthetic drugs, illicit fentanyl and its analogues are clandestinely produced, and primarily enter the United States in one of three ways:
(1) Chinese chemists produce and ship it to the United States via international mail;
(2) Mexican drug traffickers produce it with precursor chemicals from China and smuggle it across the Southwest Border; or
(3) Chinese chemists produce and ship it to Canada, where it is smuggled across the northern border.
The point is, regardless of the type, synthetic drugs pose a deadly and quickly evolving public health threat.
It is clear that the current system for scheduling controlled substances and prosecuting controlled substance analogues is not able to keep up with the speed with which new synthetic drugs are produced or to prevent the deaths they cause.
That is why the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Drugs Act to provide the Department of Justice with new tools, using a multifaceted approach.
First, the bill immediately controls 13 fentanyl analogues that law enforcement has come into contact with. These substances have already caused 162 overdose deaths in the United States.
Second, while the existing Federal Analogue Enforcement Act allows prosecutors to charge those who manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substance analogues, the law contains definition of a controlled substance analogue that is vague and often misinterpreted. As a result, court cases using this law result in a drawn out and expensive battle of the experts.
Moreover, because because controlled substance analogues are not listed as federally controlled substances, even if a prosecutor in one case successfully proves that a substance is a controlled substance analogue, this ruling is not applied across the board. A different person charged with manufacturing the exact same substance in another case is not automatically guilty of a crime. Instead, the prosecutor in the new case has to reprove that the substance in question is an analogue all over again.
Therefore, to ensure that prosecutors do not have to reprove that a substance is an analogue each and every time it appears, the bill establishes a new schedule A.
The legislation authorizes the Attorney General to add new synthetic drugs, including fentanyl and other analogues, to this new schedule, and make them illegal through an expedited, temporary scheduling process.
It also authorizes the Attorney General to permanently schedule these substances, either in schedule A or in another schedule, like schedule I. This provides the Attorney General with the maximum flexibility needed to better combat these dangerous drugs.
Those found guilty of manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing schedule A substances would be subject to existing schedule III penalties, or a maximum of 10 years imprisonment for a first offense.
The Department of Justice has told my staff that this approach will allow them to act quickly when new and dangerous substances threaten our communities.
Recognizing that the vast majority of synthetic drugs originate from outside of the United States, the legislation imposes criminal penalties for the illegal import and export of substances designated as schedule A. It also authorizes penalties for those who manufacture or distribute these substances while intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe they will ultimately be imported into the United States.
Third, the bill maintains the ability of prosecutors to charge defendants using the Federal Analogue Enforcement Act, but clarifies the definition of a controlled substance analogue within the Act.
Specifically, the language clarifies that the chemical structure of the substance must be similar to that of schedule I or II controlled substance to be considered a controlled substance analogue. On top of this, the substance must also have a stimulant, depressant or hallucinogenic effect on the body that is similar to a schedule I or II controlled substance or the person manufacturing, distributing or dispensing
the drug must represent or intend for the drug to have an effect that is similar to a schedule I or II controlled substance.
If prosecutors successfully prove a substance is a controlled substance analogue under the new definition, those who traffic the drug could face higher penalties than those assigned to schedule A, because the penalty would be associated with the drug it mimics.
Finally, those trafficking these substances do not market them as synthetic drugs. Instead, they mislabel the products, which are often sold at gas stations and convenience stores. To prevent this from happening, the bill requires all schedule A substances to be properly labeled and establishes civil penalties for failure to do so.
This provision will allow civil enforcement action to be taken to remove mislabeled products from the shelves of gas stations and convenience stores.
I want to close by sharing the story of one of my constituents, a young man named Connor Eckhardt. Unfortunately, a synthetic drug known as Spice claimed his life. Connor took one hit of the drug, which, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, is a mixture of herbs and spices that is typically sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. His brain swelled, causing him to go into a coma, and he never woke up.
Sadly, Connor's story has become all too common. And this is unacceptable. That is why I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act. Law enforcement must have the ability to swiftly bring those who manufacture, distribute, and dispense these deadly drugs to justice.
I look forward to working with and obtaining feedback from my colleagues and other stakeholders on this bill, which provides new and necessary authorities to combat synthetic drugs.
