Health News
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, left, has put a hold on several Senate bills aimed at banning chemicals used in synthetic drugs because he feels "enforcement of most drug laws can and should be local and state issues," said his spokeswoman Moira Bagley. The move has been criticized by other lawmakers, law enforcement and a woman from his home city whose daughter had a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana. (Photo by Matt Goins)
- Medical-marijuana Bill Clears House Committee; Cannabis-oil Bill, More Likely To Pass Into Law, Goes To Full Senate
A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky passed the Kentucky Health House and Welfare Committee Thursday, but whether the issue will come up for a vote in front of the full House was unclear. Meanwhile, the Senate is moving a bill that would allow...
- Bath Salts, Synthetic Drugs Change Too Fast For Foes To Fight
Bath salts, which mimic the effects of drugs like cocaine and speed. The Patriot-News photo by Chris Knight.Though legislators across the country, including Kentucky, have passed laws to ban synthetic drugs like bath salts, there are so many new formulations...
- House Judiciary Committee Approves Two Bills To Curb Synthetic, Rx Drug Abuse
Cracking down on drugs is one of the most pressing topics of the 2012 General Assembly, and lawmakers showed they were serious about it this afternoon. (Associated Press photo by Ed Reinke of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville)...
- 'pill Mills' Proliferating In Ky.; Legislators Plan Countermeasures
Suspected "pill mills" that feed Kentucky's "epidemic of prescription-drug abuse" have proliferated in the last two years, and "not just in Eastern Kentucky, where the problem was once most prominent," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported yesterday....
- Legislators Expected To Ban Products Containing Addictive, Powerful Ingredient Marketed As 'bath Salts'
Kentucky is one of an increasing number of states proposing an emergency ban on products marketed as "bath salts," which can cause paranoia, hallucinations and even violent behavior. The product, which is sold legally in stores and online under names...
Health News
Sen. Rand Paul puts holds on federal synthetic drug bans
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, left, has put a hold on several Senate bills aimed at banning chemicals used in synthetic drugs because he feels "enforcement of most drug laws can and should be local and state issues," said his spokeswoman Moira Bagley. The move has been criticized by other lawmakers, law enforcement and a woman from his home city whose daughter had a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana. (Photo by Matt Goins)"When Ashley Stillwell, 19, bowed to peer pressure last August and smoked a substance called 7H, it quickly immobilized her," reports Bill Estep for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Ashley's frightened friends poured water on her and shook her. When they couldn't rouse her, Ashley heard the others discuss dumping her body in the Barren River."
The teen recovered after she was taken to the hospital, but her mother Amy, of Bowling Green, is frustrated by Paul's move to block the legislation. Three Senate measures passed committee last summer, and the House voted 371-98 in December to approve a ban on synthetic drug chemicals. Senate rules allow one member to place a hold on a bill. "That doesn't mean it can't be voted on, but it slows the process and raises some hurdles," Estep reports.
Bagley said Paul is concerned about banning the substances before research can be done on them. Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowan Republican who sponsored one of the bills, said reclassifying the chemicals as controlled substances would not prevent research from being conducted. "We cannot let the will of just one senator obstruct the will of many," Grassley said.
One in nine high-school seniors had used a substance known as K2 or Spice in the past year, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in December. That makes synthetic marijuana the second most-abused drug in that age group. Calls to poison-control centers about synthetic drugs have risen from 3,200 in 2010 to 13,000 last year, Estep reports.
White House drug chief Gil Kerlikowske said his office is "urging the Senate to pass that legislation." (Read more)
- Medical-marijuana Bill Clears House Committee; Cannabis-oil Bill, More Likely To Pass Into Law, Goes To Full Senate
A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky passed the Kentucky Health House and Welfare Committee Thursday, but whether the issue will come up for a vote in front of the full House was unclear. Meanwhile, the Senate is moving a bill that would allow...
- Bath Salts, Synthetic Drugs Change Too Fast For Foes To Fight
Bath salts, which mimic the effects of drugs like cocaine and speed. The Patriot-News photo by Chris Knight.Though legislators across the country, including Kentucky, have passed laws to ban synthetic drugs like bath salts, there are so many new formulations...
- House Judiciary Committee Approves Two Bills To Curb Synthetic, Rx Drug Abuse
Cracking down on drugs is one of the most pressing topics of the 2012 General Assembly, and lawmakers showed they were serious about it this afternoon. (Associated Press photo by Ed Reinke of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville)...
- 'pill Mills' Proliferating In Ky.; Legislators Plan Countermeasures
Suspected "pill mills" that feed Kentucky's "epidemic of prescription-drug abuse" have proliferated in the last two years, and "not just in Eastern Kentucky, where the problem was once most prominent," the Lexington Herald-Leader reported yesterday....
- Legislators Expected To Ban Products Containing Addictive, Powerful Ingredient Marketed As 'bath Salts'
Kentucky is one of an increasing number of states proposing an emergency ban on products marketed as "bath salts," which can cause paranoia, hallucinations and even violent behavior. The product, which is sold legally in stores and online under names...