Synthetic Drug Ban on Senate Hold

Synthetic drugs are man-made substitutes for other naturally occurring drug substances. Sold under names like plant food and bath salts, K2 and Spice, the drugs are every bit as dangerous as the substances they have been designed to mimic. Synthetic drugs are designed to be substitutes for marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine and pose perhaps an even greater risk since users tend to think that synthetic means ‘safe’.

The House of Representatives voted decisively on December 8th to ban synthetic drugs by targeting the chemical formulas which impact the brain in a manner similar to their non-synthetic counterparts.

Synthetic drug use had been escalating over recent years along with the number of hospitalizations related to their consumption. These drugs can lead to seriously increased heart rates, anxiety attacks and even convulsions. Violent incidents associated with the use of synthetic drugs had also been on the rise. One man under the influence of bath salts attacked a priest with a knife while another leapt from a third story window.

Senator Rand Paul wants to block the federal ban and was quoted as saying that sending disaffected youths into prisons on drug charges may expose them to radical Islamist elements. The Senator later clarified his comments by saying that concerns over prison exposure was not his reason for opposing the ban on synthetic drugs. Instead, Paul said, drug enforcement is the purview of state and local authorities rather than the Federal government. At present, the bill and others like it are under a Senate hold which keeps them from making it to the floor of the Senate for a vote. It would take 60 Senators to override the current hold.