Senator Charles Schumer proposes a ban of synthetic drugs with substances similar to that of “molly,” a hybrid of ecstasy. This is to ensure that the youth are protected from any form of dangerous synthetic drugs.
Under the new proposal which Schumer introduced on Sunday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would have the power to “ban substances that were similar in composition and effect to the 26 synthetic drugs already banned." Molly has attained a growing popularity among teenagers as it has the same effect of ecstasy upon exposure.
"We need to give our DEA and FDA greater power to ban the counterfeit analogue drugs just like they banned the regular drugs. This will be applied to any tweaking of a banned drug that makes the drug either worse or the same in terms of its effects," Schumer told the Wall Street Journal.
Drug producers currently make minimal alterations to the chemical composition of the banned substance, thus, making the drug a little different from the original substance and no longer prohibited under current law. However, under the new proposal, the varied substances would also be prohibited.
Schumer called for an increased focus on laboratories that produce “molly.” He suggests that the New York/New Jersey-based anti-drug task force High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) treat it as high priority.
"Molly" is often shammed and tied with other drugs, like bath salts, which increases the strength of the drug. Schumer presented a data that about 70 percent of drug users had tried MDMA in the previous year.
The proposed act titled “Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2013” aims to save the lives of the youth from the dangers of these drugs. Two people died because of “molly” during a concert in Randall Island.
