• Home
• About Amy
• Serving Minnesotans
• About Minnesota
• Issues/ Legislation
• Media Center
• Contact Amy
• FAQ

Amy in the News

Klobuchar takes action to ban synthetic drugs

(KARE 11)

March 20, 2011

MINNEAPOLIS --  A U.S. Senator is taking action after eleven people overdosed on a synthetic drug Wednesday night at a Blaine party. One of them, 19-year-old Trevor Robinson, died.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota called for a crackdown on the so-called designer drugs that more and more kids are obtaining legally.

The massive overdose of 11 people, ages 16 to 21, in Blaine was on a substance that can be legally purchased over the internet.  It's called 2C-E and it is not a controlled substance. Yet authorities believe it killed Robinson.

2C-E is one of many synthetic drugs that continue to enter the market making it tough for lawmakers to keep up.

Klobuchar said, "I believe that what we need to do when we have laws on the books that they reflect the changing nature of illegal drugs."

She is co-sponsoring a bill with Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley that would ban harmful chemicals used in synthetic drugs like K-2 and Spice.

With the death of Robinson, Klobuchar now also wants to add 2C-E to that bill.

She said, "If that does not work out for some reason we'll do a stand alone bill on 2C-E.

The DEA's Analog Act allowed authorities to arrest a 21-year-old Blaine man on Friday who supplied the 2C-E to Robinson, because the act says a legal compound is illegal if it mimics an illegal drug.

Klobuchar said, "Right now you have an ability in with our DEA to prosecute drugs that are similar.  It's called an analog drug.  But it is a very temporary situation so you want to continue to add the drugs we see as causing injury to the list."

Still, synthetic drug manufacturers can simply change a few molecules and come up with a new drug, so Klobuchar says parents need to warn their kids.   She said, "We're seeing an increase in visits to the emergency room due to synthetic drugs.  We're seeing all kinds of issues that are new, things that no one could ever imagine, kids getting drugs that are just chemical compounds and thinking it's OK because they got it off the internet.  Well it's not OK."

The 21-year-old Blaine man who was arrested on suspicion of third-degree murder for supplying 2C-E to Robinson could be charged as soon as Monday.