Statement on House Passage of Legislation Banning Synthetic Drugs

Press Release

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar made the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning dangerous synthetic drugs. The bill is similar to Klobuchar legislation banning harmful synthetic substances including 2C-E, which led to the death of a Minnesota teenager and hospitalized several others. Klobuchar said that the House's support will help move the legislation forward in the Senate.

"These new designer drugs are taking lives and tearing apart families in Minnesota and across the country, and yet many of these dangerous substances can still be purchased legally. That's simply unacceptable," Klobuchar said."As a former prosecutor, I know we must take swift action to give law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on synthetic drugs before they put more lives in danger. The House's approval of legislation banning these harmful chemicals will help advance this effort in the Senate and ensure we get these laws on the books."

Klobuchar, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have led the effort in the U.S. Senate to ban harmful chemicals in synthetic drugs that have taken lives -- including the life of a Minnesotan -- and injured many others. Klobuchar's legislation, the Combating Designer Drugs Act of 2011, bans the substance known as 2C-E, a synthetic hallucinogen, and eight other similar substances. Klobuchar introduced the legislation this past March after a Minnesota teenager died and ten others were hospitalized due to an overdose of 2C-E.

In September, Klobuchar hosted a roundtable on synthetic drugs with U.S. Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske and Minnesota law enforcement leaders. The discussion focused on efforts to curb the sale and use of dangerous synthetic drugs and highlighted how federal, state, and local leaders can work together to solve the problem. The following week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced its decision to ban three chemicals commonly found in synthetic drugs known as "bath salts."

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, which has jurisdiction over issues relating to drug control policy, and she has been a leader in strengthening drug safety standards to protect consumers.

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