U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) unveiled legislation on Tuesday to prevent the sale of synthetic drugs during a roundtable discussion in Mandan, N.D., with local, state and federal law enforcers.
The Illegal Synthetic Drug Safety Act, S. 3262, which Hoeven recently introduced with U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), would close a loophole in federal law that allows companies to legally sell synthetic variations of drugs by printing “not for human consumption” on product labels.
“Communities and families across the nation, and in my home state of North Dakota, are being hit hard by the growing drug epidemic,” Hoeven said. “This legislation is part of our efforts to combat this problem and keep harmful opioids and synthetic drugs off the street. The bill closes a loophole and makes synthetic variations of harmful drugs, like fentanyl, illegal.”
Laboratories located in China and elsewhere around the world are altering the molecular structure of fentanyl and other controlled drugs to create “analogues” that are technically different but have the same effects of illegal drugs.
Under the Analogue Enforcement Act, controlled substance analogues that are “intended for human consumption” are considered prohibited Schedule I substances. Companies that print “not for human consumption” on product labels are able to sidestep the law.
The Illegal Synthetic Drug Safety would remove the phrase “intended for human consumption” from the Analogue Enforcement Act. Chemicals that have legitimate commercial purposes and are regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act would be exempt from the classification.