K2 Products
Floor Speech
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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, as a parent and grandparent, I have long been concerned about the dangers that face our kids. I have been especially concerned about the large amount of dangerous drugs in this country and their use by anybody but particularly young people. It is clear drug dealers will stop at nothing to get our kids hooked on drugs. All too often, we learn of new and emerging threats to communities that often have negative impacts on our youth. But when these drug threats emerge, it is crucial that we unite to halt the spread of the problem before it consumes families and communities.
Today we are confronted with new and very dangerous substances packaged as somewhat innocent products. Specifically, young people are able to go online and/or to the nearest shopping mall and purchase incense laced with chemicals that alter mind and body. These products are commonly referred to as ``K2'' or ``Spice,'' among other names. I have a chart Members can see behind me. They can see the package varieties of K2 products. I will not go into detail, but look at them.
Specifically, kids are able to actually purchase these products with a great amount of ease. Kids and drug users are smoking this product in order to obtain what they think is a legal high, and the word ``legal'' tends to imply harmless. It is believed K2 products emerged on the scene beginning 4 or 5 years ago. Their use spread quickly through Europe and the United States. According to a study conducted by the European Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, most of the chemicals found in K2 products are not even reported on the label. This study by the European Centre concluded that these chemicals are not listed because there is a deliberate marketing strategy to represent this product as somewhat a natural substance. However, K2 is anything but natural. Most of the chemicals the Drug Enforcement Administration has identified within K2 products were invented by Dr. John W. Huffman of Clemson University and for a very worthwhile purpose--research purposes.
These synthetic chemicals were never intended to be used for any other purpose other than research. They were never tested on humans, and no long-term effects of their use are currently known. As more and more people are experimenting with K2, it is becoming increasingly evident that K2 use is anything but safe.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports significant increases in the amount of calls concerning these products. There were only 13 calls related to K2 use reported in 2009. Look at the figure for 2010. There have been over 1,000 calls concerning K2 use. So it is very evident: A dramatic increase in a short amount of time of the public concerned about K2 use, probably reflecting increased use of K2.
Common effects reported by emergency room doctors include increased agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, hallucinations, and seizures. The effects from the highs from K2 use are reported to last several hours, and in some cases up to one week.
Dr. Huffman has stated that since so little research has been conducted on K2 chemicals, using any one of them would be like ``playing Russian roulette.''
In fact, Dr. Anthony Scalzo, a professor of emergency medicine at St. Louis University, reports that these chemicals are significantly more potent than even marijuana. Dr. Scalzo states that the amount of chemicals in K2 varies from product to product, so naturally no one can be sure exactly the amount of drugs you are putting into your body when you use these K2 products. Dr. Scalzo reports that this can lead to significant problems such as altering the state of mind, addiction, injury, and even death. I will refer to the death issue in a moment.
According to various news articles across the Nation, K2 can cause serious erratic and criminal behavior. In Mooresville, IN, the police arrested a group of teens after they were connected to a string of burglaries while high on K2. The local county attorney prosecuting the case stated this was an unusual crime spree. These kids were not the type who are normally seen in the criminal justice system. The county attorney stated these kids had ``no prior record, good grades, athletes, so that got me wondering: is there a correlation between K2 and the crime?''
Another case in Honolulu, HI, shows police arrested a 23-year-old man after he tried to throw his girlfriend off an 11th floor balcony after he was smoking K2.
A 14-year-old boy in Missouri nearly threw himself out of a fifth story window after smoking K2. Once the teen got over his high, he denied having any suicidal tendencies. Doctors believe he was hallucinating at the time of the incident.
K2 use is also causing serious health problems and increased visits to emergency rooms.
A Louisiana teen said he became very ill after trying K2. The teen said he experienced numbness, starting at his feet and traveling all the way to his head. He was nauseous, light-headed, and was having hallucinations. The teen stated that K2 is being passed around at the school. The teen also stated that many people were trying it without fear, assuming it was safe because it was legal. I said that previously in my remarks: a legal drug, it has to be safe is kind of the attitude.
Another case has a teenager in Indiana being admitted to an emergency room with a blood pressure of 248 over 134 after testing positive for K2.
A teen in Texas became temporarily paralyzed from the waist down after smoking K2.
Another teen in Texas had a heart attack after smoking K2 but, fortunately, survived the event.
Regrettably, K2 use also has deadly consequences. I want to speak about an individual and family who suffered from a tremendously bad consequence of K2.
The picture behind me is of David Rozga. David was a recent 18-year-old Indianola, IA, high school graduate. According to his parents and friends, David was a bright, energetic, talented student who loved music, was popular, and active in his church.
David was looking forward to attending the University of Northern Iowa this fall, my alma mater. On June 6, 2010, David, along with some of his friends, smoked a package of K2 thinking it was nothing more than just having a little fun.
David and his friends purchased this product at a mall in Des Moines, after hearing about it from some college students who were home for the summer.
After smoking this product, David's friends reported that David became highly agitated and terrified. When he got home, he found a family shotgun and committed suicide 90 minutes after smoking K2.
The Indianola police believe David was under the influence of K2 at the time of his death. David's parents and many in the community who knew David were completely shocked and, obviously, saddened by this event.
As a result, the Iowa Pharmacy Board placed an emergency ban on K2 products in Iowa, which began on July 21, 2010. David's tragic death may be the first case in the United States of K2 use leading to someone's death, but, sadly, it was only the beginning.
A month after David's tragic death, police reported that a 28-year-old Middletown, IN, mother of two passed away after smoking a lethal dose of K2. This woman's godson reported that anyone could get K2 easily because it can be sold to anyone at any price and at any time.
This last August, a recent 19-year-old Lake Highlands High School graduate in Dallas, TX, passed away after smoking K2. The medical examiner confirmed that this boy had K2 in his system at the time of his death.
These incidents throughout the country give me great concern that K2 use is a dangerous and growing problem. Twelve States, including Iowa, have acted to ban the sale and possession of the chemicals found in K2 products. Many more States, counties, and communities throughout the country have proposed bans or are in the process of banning these products.
However, a recent article in the Des Moines Register highlights the fact that some stores are working around these bans by the simple process of changing some of the chemicals and by simply relabeling the product.
So I believe it is time we have a national discussion about these dangerous substances. I hope in the coming weeks and months my colleagues will begin to take notice of this issue.
As cochairman of the Senate Drug Caucus--I cochair that with Senator Feinstein from California--it is my hope we will have a hearing on this issue in the not too distant future.
It is important to fully understand the magnitude and implications of allowing these products to remain legal in the United States. It is clear the sale and use of K2 products is obviously a growing problem. People believe these products are safe because they can buy them online or at the nearest shopping mall.
We need to do a better job at educating the public and our communities about the dangers these products present. We, in fact, need to nip this problem in the bud before it grows and leads to the tragedy of more death or the tragedy of other health consequences.
I ask each of my colleagues in the Senate to join me as we explore positive actions to stem the use of K2.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
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