 The bill, which Madigan's office helped craft, targets the retail
sale of synthetic drugs by defining a "synthetic drug product" as
containing a controlled substance not regulated by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.
House Bill 5233 also addresses how these drugs are packaged and
sold, often with misleading claims that the products are legal and
"not intended for human consumption." The legislation would make it
illegal under the Illinois Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act to sell any
form of synthetic drugs in Illinois."With drugmakers continually
reformulating these toxic substances, our state laws can quickly
become outmoded when new variations arrive in stores," Madigan said.
"This bill seeks to end the game of ‘catch up' by classifying as
illegal any chemical that's sold to be taken as a drug, regardless
of what it's called or how it's labeled."
Sen. Kwame Raoul sponsored the measure in the Illinois Senate.
House Bill 5233 now goes to the governor for consideration.
"Too often, our drug laws lag behind the development of new
varieties of recreational drugs and new strategies for marketing
them," Raoul said. "This legislation clarifies the law on synthetic
drugs so that retailers know when they sell these products, whether
they contain controlled substances or are mislabeled, they will face
criminal penalties and risk losing their businesses."
The bill also significantly increases the penalty for selling
synthetic drug products or misbranded drugs.
"As a former police officer who understands how illegal drugs can
decimate communities, I enthusiastically sponsored this legislation
on behalf of Attorney General Madigan," said House sponsor Rep.
Jerry Costello II. "This legislation directs our focus to those
involved in making and distributing constantly evolving drug
concoctions."
[to top of second column] |
"Operation Smoked Out" update
In addition to proposing this legislation, the attorney general
is working with local law enforcement agencies throughout the state
to address the growing use of synthetic drugs, particularly among
teens and young adults. In December 2011, Madigan launched retail
store sweeps, known as "Operation Smoked Out," shortly after hosting
the state's first emergency summit to increase awareness of
synthetic drugs. Since the retail store visits began, store owners
across the state have relinquished nearly 25,000 packages of
synthetic drugs and bath salts with a street value of almost
$544,000.
These efforts come at a time when poison control centers across the
country have reported a dramatic increase in calls about synthetic
marijuana and "bath salts," another type of synthetic drug that
contains chemical compounds that mimic the effects of cocaine or
methamphetamine. In 2010, poison control centers nationwide received
2,915 calls related to synthetic marijuana use. That figured jumped
to 6,890 calls in 2011. Reports of bath salts were made to poison
control centers 303 times in 2010. A year later, the centers
received 6,072 calls about bath salts.
States, including Illinois, initially responded to the rise of
synthetic drug use by passing laws that banned specific formulas of
synthetic marijuana and bath salts. Drugmakers attempted to sidestep
these laws by replacing the banned chemicals with new formulas. A
new Illinois law that went into effect on Jan.1 takes a broader
approach and bans all chemicals that are structural derivatives of
the previously banned chemicals. The measures proposed in House Bill
5233 seek to complement the new law.
[Text from file received from the office
of
Illinois Attorney General Lisa
Madigan] |
