Hartford, CT - Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today praised the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s order to temporarily place Mephedrone, methylone, and MDPV to the schedule I list of controlled substances, allowing the DEA to legally crack down on the use of these dangerous and life-threatening designer drugs known as “bath salts.”
“I applaud the DEA’s decision to proactively address the recent explosion of synthetic drug production, distribution, and use by temporarily adding these chemicals to the list of scheduled substances,” said Blumenthal. “The spread of these dangerous drugs calls for a comprehensive response from legislators, regulators, and law enforcement. It is my hope that Congress will act to facilitate permanent scheduling of these substances and crack down on their use and distribution, which poses a public health risk to our communities and our nation’s youth.”
Just last week, Blumenthal introduced an amendment with Senator Olympia Snow (R-ME) to an appropriations bill in the U.S. Senate to better coordinate federal law enforcement and resources with state and local agencies in responding to the rapidly growing synthetic drug problem. Blumenthal has aggressively pursued a number of legislative efforts over the past year to curb the use of these designer drugs.
