Michigan law enforcement and health officials can quickly remove dangerous synthetic drugs from store shelves under legislation approved Thursday (June 8th) by the Michigan House, state Rep. Matt Lori announced.
Senate Bill 1082, passed by the House Thursday, is part of a package including House Bills 5338 and 5714 and Senate Bill 789 that allow the state to quickly identify and eliminate illegal mind-altering products no matter what name or form they take by temporarily categorizing the products as a controlled substance. They also set forth penalties for breaking the law.
The products may contain a number of synthetic chemicals including methylmethcathinone or methylenedioxypyrovalerone, strong stimulants that can cause increased heart rate, chest pains, dizziness, delusions, panic attacks, nose bleeding and nausea. Patients ingesting these chemicals can be extremely paranoid and may not respond to usual calmatives. Some individuals have been involved in homicides and suicides while under the influence. Severe cases may require long-term psychiatric care.
The legislation lists chemical classifications that are prohibited and grants authority to the Michigan State Police to remove those drugs from stores by July 1 if businesses haven’t already done so.
The legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Source: News release from state Representative Matt Lori
