A bipartisan group of federal legislators introduced last week a bill to fight the spread of synthetic drugs.
Synthetic drugs are re-engineered to circumvent federal laws designed to outlaw them. The Stop Importation and Manufacturing of Synthetic Analogues (SIMSA) Act would allow substances substantially similar to controlled drugs to temporarily regulated while more testing, research, and analyses can be performed. It is designed to help law enforcement respond to the modification of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, which have caused a spike in overdose deaths.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY) along with U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
“During my time in Congress, I heard from countless families in Central New York who have been devastated by the heroin and synthetic drug epidemic,” Katko said. “One part of addressing this crisis is continuing our work to support law enforcement by ensuring they are fully equipped with the necessary tools to stop the inflow of toxic synthetic drugs. With this bipartisan, bicameral legislation, law enforcement will be able to expeditiously schedule new synthetic drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, allowing them to take on international drug traffickers and prevent these dangerous drugs from reaching our communities.”
Current laws prohibit the unauthorized use of certain specific controlled substances. Still, drug makers and importers are circumventing those laws by altering a single atom or molecule of a drug to create a new, yet similar substance. This bill allows substances to be temporarily or permanently added to a new category of controlled substances to ensure that legitimate research on these substances can be undertaken.
“For too long, our communities have been plagued by a sharp influx in synthetic drugs. We have lost too many people to this epidemic, and it’s past time that Congress takes the necessary steps to save lives,” Rice said. “This bipartisan legislation provides much-needed help to stop the unlawful importation and distribution of synthetic drugs and will finally give our law enforcement the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”
The legislation has the backing of the National Association of Police Organizations, the National District Attorneys Association, and the National Sheriff’s Association.
“Criminals pushing illicit drugs are able to skirt existing laws by slightly changing the chemical makeup of a substance that has already been outlawed or regulated and flood the market before the law can catch up,” Grassley said. “It’s created a deadly game of ‘whack-a-mole’ as law enforcement struggles to keep pace under the current drug scheduling regime. We’ve also seen the grave consequences of these synthetics in the ongoing opioid epidemic. Our bill provides the needed flexibility to help get ahead of the poison peddlers.”