Goodlatte Statement at Hearing on Bill to Combat Synthetic Drugs

Chairman Goodlatte: I am pleased to be here today as the Judiciary Committee builds on its efforts to stop the epidemic of synthetic drugs.  The Crime Subcommittee held a subject matter hearing last year on this issue, and the groundbreaking piece of legislation we are discussing today is part of the solution to that epidemic.  I am honored to cosponsor H.R. 2851, the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act. The Controlled Substances Act expresses federal U.S. drug policy by which the manufacture, importation, distribution, possession and use of certain substances are regulated.  Synthetic drugs, once called “designer drugs” but now known as new psychoactive substances, are posing a serious public health threat, and this bill would update federal law to provide prompt action to stop the unlawful importation and distribution of synthetic drugs. This bill maintains the careful balance that Congress struck when it first enacted the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 – to continue to protect the American public from harmful and deadly drugs while promoting the safe research of new substances. The deadliest drug in Virginia last year was a synthetic opioid.  Fentanyl contributed to more than half of the 1,133 deaths due to opioid overdoses in 2016.  In November 2016, the Virginia Health Commissioner declared the opioid addiction crisis a public health emergency in Virginia.  As if fentanyl weren’t deadly enough, Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid about 100 times more potent than fentanyl, has been linked to numerous overdose deaths around the country.  Because synthetic drugs are potent and cheap, greedy criminals are adding synthetic drugs to cocaine and heroin with deadly results.  These powerful drugs also present a grave danger to first responders, innocent bystanders and children. Last week, China’s National Narcotics Control Commission announced scheduling controls against four new synthetic drugs.  This and prior scheduling actions by China have been the culmination of ongoing cooperative efforts between the DEA and the Government of China.  While I applaud these efforts and encourage them to continue, it is now clear that our laws to control synthetic drugs were not designed for the epidemic we find ourselves in now.  There are presently over 400 known synthetic drugs being imported and distributed in the United States, many of which are technically legal.  Criminal drug traffickers and their illicit chemists have learned how to manipulate drug molecules to completely evade U.S. and international laws, solely for their own greed and financial profit.  H.R. 2851 finally gives U.S. law enforcement nimble tools to react as soon as these deadly drugs arrive in our country so we can collectively, through enforcement, treatment and education, retake our communities from the plague of synthetic drugs. In the 1990s, the U.S. faced a similar situation with regard to GHB, the date rape drug.   It was scheduled and strict federal laws were enacted.  Not long ago, steroid molecules were being manipulated much the same way synthetic drugs are now, and Congress responded with the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act, enacted in 2014.  Today, a unique class of drugs trafficked by highly resourceful criminals must be confronted head-on with a unique and agile response.  H.R. 2851 is that response.  We have a responsibility to protect the American people from criminals who exploit misery for profit.  It is time for Congress to act again. I want to thank Congressman Katko for his tireless work on this effort and for introducing the important legislation before us today. Thank you to the witnesses for their testimony, and look forward to their responses to our questions.