A bill banning newly identified synthetic substances used to make drugs, like bath salts, is gaining traction in the Florida Senate. Lawmakers took the matter up in the measure’s first Committee stop Tuesday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an Emergency Rule late last year to ban 22 new substances, intending to get synthetic drugs, like K2, Spice, and bath salts off the street. But, it’s a temporary fix, until the Legislature could get a law on the books. And, Bondi says it’s something lawmakers can’t ignore.
“This is deadly. It’s lethal. People call it synthetic marijuana. I would put marijuana down here and this up here. It’s a hallucinogenic. It’s basically synthetic LSD or acid, and our children are taking it. It’s marketed to kids between the ages of 12 and 17,” said Bondi.
While the bill had many backers, some, like members of the Florida Medical Association, questioned whether the bill could go further to include other abuses, like anabolic steroids.
But, the measure’s sponsor Senator Rob Bradley doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
“The bill that I introduced really is addressing a specific problem, the K2 and the Spice, and I’m afraid of adding anything to that particular bill that it gets bogged down and distracts from the focus of what that bill is intended to do,” said Bradley.
The bill (SB 294) passed unanimously in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and has three more stops before it heads to the Senate Floor.
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