Schumer Pushes for Import Ban on 22 Synthetic Drugs
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Congress to pass legislation that would ban 22 synthetic substances, including their imports, citing concerns with illicit forms of fentanyl and the rise of designer drugs (here). The bill (here), co-sponsored by Schumer, would help…
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crack down on chemists who cook synthetics in China and other places, he said. If passed, substances listed in the bill text would be subject to regulations under the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, which prohibits imports of Schedule I and II drugs. Schumer predicted passage of the bill after Congress returns from its August recess. “These dangerous, often deadly substances, leave our emergency rooms bulging with stupefied users with zombie-like symptoms -- and this is a sign of what’s to come if Congress doesn’t act quickly,” Schumer said in a statement. “We need a federal hammer to nail these toxic concoctions of synthetic drugs before things get worse. This federal legislation will ban 22 synthetic drugs, including powerful forms of fentanyl, crippling the unlawful chemists cooking up these drugs and the cartels that push them to our local stores and streets.” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on July 14 introduced S. 3224, the Dangerous Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2016, which is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.