02/09/2011 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

                 SB  17-SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:32:40 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  DAVIS announced  the first  order of business  would  be SB
.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                              
SENATOR  MEYER,  sponsor  of  SB 17,  explained  this  bill  would                                                              
classify  synthetic cannabinoids  as  a controlled  substance.  He                                                              
explained that  synthetic cannabinoids  have recently  appeared in                                                              
the form of a  new drug, called "Spice" or "K2".  These substances                                                              
are  relatively  cheap,  easily   attainable,  and  used  by  many                                                              
people,  especially teenagers.  Spice  is popular  because it  has                                                              
effects  similar to  marijuana but  can't  be detected  in a  drug                                                              
test,  and is  legally sold  over the  counter as  incense; it  is                                                              
also more potent than marijuana.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
The  Municipality  of  Anchorage  (MOA) has  passed  an  ordinance                                                              
prohibiting  the  possession  of  the substance  in  the  city  of                                                              
Anchorage. The Drug  Enforcement Agency (DEA) and  the US military                                                              
have  also taken  action against  it, and  the city  of Juneau  is                                                              
considering  an  ordinance.  By  enacting SB  17,  he  emphasized,                                                              
hopefully  the   legislature  can  prevent  this   substance  from                                                              
causing more  harm and  more accidents.  Senator Meyer  noted that                                                              
15 states  have already passed  legislation against the  drug, and                                                              
21 states have  introduced legislation that will  make it unlawful                                                              
to  sell, purchase,  possess,  manufacture,  transport or  deliver                                                              
synthetic cannabinoids.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:36:07 PM                                                                                                                    
CHRISTINE  MARASIGAN,  staff  to  Senator  Meyer  said  she  would                                                              
answer any questions.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:37:48 PM                                                                                                                    
ROBERT   THOMPSON,   Sergeant,    Fairbanks   Police   Department,                                                              
testified in favor  of SB 17. On January 12, he  said, there was a                                                              
traffic accident  in Fairbanks where the driver  admitted to using                                                              
Spice,  and acknowledged  that he  was  impaired. They  discovered                                                              
that they  could not charge him  under the DUI statutes,  but only                                                              
for reckless  driving. It is obviously  a public safety  risk that                                                              
people are  consuming Spice and  driving. Sergeant  Thompson noted                                                              
the  driver   was  described   as  being   passed  out,   and  was                                                              
disoriented  when he  came to.  He emphasized  that although  this                                                              
substance  is legal,  it creates  a significant  threat to  public                                                              
safety.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:39:59 PM                                                                                                                    
DENNIS  WHEELER, Municipal  Attorney,  Anchorage  (MOA), said  the                                                              
municipality  supports SB  17 and  its companion  bill, HB  7. The                                                              
MOA believes there  should be felony penalties,  and the substance                                                              
should be  criminalized statewide. He  mentioned that the  MOA has                                                              
benefitted  from a grant  from the  Highway Traffic Safety  Office                                                              
which allowed  Ms. Messig to  make presentations around  the state                                                              
regarding this drug, its effects, and why it is so dangerous.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:42:19 PM                                                                                                                    
JENNIFER    MESSIG,    Traffic   Safety    Resource    Prosecutor,                                                              
Municipality of  Anchorage, said that  APD had a  traffic fatality                                                              
where  Spice was  involved, as  well  as numerous  DUI cases,  but                                                              
they  are not  able to  prosecute these  as DUI  cases. There  are                                                              
also  health concerns  with these  chemical  compounds. There  has                                                              
been at least  one death directly attributed to  Spice; in Montana                                                              
a  16  year old  died  after  using Spice,  and  blood  toxicology                                                              
confirmed no other drugs were present in his system.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
A number  of very dangerous symptoms  can occur when  someone uses                                                              
this drug, and it  doesn't depend on the amount used.  Some of the                                                              
symptoms   are   dangerously   high  blood   pressure,   loss   of                                                              
consciousness,   acute  tachycardia,  unpleasant   hallucinations,                                                              
delusions  of  impending  death,   and  delusions  of  super-human                                                              
strength.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  MEYER noted  that many  people  use Spice  because it  is                                                              
legal, so  they believe  it must  not be  harmful. He  asked about                                                              
the difference between marijuana and Spice.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:46:17 PM                                                                                                                    
MS. MESSIG responded  that Spice can look like  marijuana, because                                                              
the  chemical  compounds  are  often   sprayed  onto  leafy  green                                                              
substances,  and   it  has  the  same  method   of  delivery.  The                                                              
researcher  who  developed  Spice  was  actually  researching  the                                                              
possible medicinal  effects of marijuana.  He discovered  that the                                                              
compounds in Spice  bind differently in the brain  than marijuana,                                                              
up  to 800  times tighter,  so the  effect is  much stronger  than                                                              
marijuana. What  makes it so dangerous  is that it  targets people                                                              
who might not  otherwise experiment with drugs. They  reason it is                                                              
not illegal, so it must not be harmful.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:49:21 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  MEYER said  he asked  his daughter  if she  had heard  of                                                              
Spice  in her  high  school,  and she  said  it was  very  popular                                                              
because it doesn't  show up on a drug test. He  then asked how law                                                              
enforcement  agencies test  for Spice  now that  it is illegal  in                                                              
Anchorage.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. MESSIG said  that Spice is not detectable in  an ordinary drug                                                              
screen. A  few labs have  developed the  ability to test  for some                                                              
of those  compounds in  the urine, and  those tests  cost anywhere                                                              
from $35 to  $55, but not all  7 compounds can be tested  for. One                                                              
lab can do a blood test but it is very expensive.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER asked  if they have to send samples  out of state to                                                              
be tested.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. MESSIG confirmed  they do have to  send them out, and  it is a                                                              
very difficult process.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:52:08 PM                                                                                                                    
SHELLY HUGHES,  Government Affairs  Director, Alaska  Primary Care                                                              
Association,  testified in  support  of SB  17.  She cited  health                                                              
risks and  the potential  for substance abuse,  and said  that the                                                              
effects  to  the  central  nervous  systems  and  cardio  vascular                                                              
systems  are evident,  and it is  a concern  to clinicians  across                                                              
the state.  Spice-related emergency room  visits and the  need for                                                              
medical care by students are all red flags.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:54:06 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony on SB 17.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER asked a question for the state crime lab.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:54:45 PM                                                                                                                    
ORIN  DYM,  Manager, Alaska  State  Scientific  Crime  Laboratory,                                                              
Commissioner's  Office,  Department of  Public  Safety, stated  he                                                              
was available to answer questions.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:55:24 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR MEYER asked why there is a fiscal note.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DYM explained  that  there  are two  types  of analyses  that                                                              
should  be   clarified.  The  Alaska   State  Crime  Lab   has  no                                                              
toxicology section;  what they can  test for is the  possession of                                                              
such substances,  in order to provide positive  identity for court                                                              
cases.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:56:42 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR EGAN  asked if  the state  crime lab  has seen  a cocaine-                                                              
like bath salts being sold in stores.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. DYM  said the first sample  was recently submitted;  there are                                                              
three  common chemicals  associated with  those substances,  which                                                              
he forwarded to the department of law.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR EGAN said, "So it has reached Alaska."                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. DYM confirmed that was true.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:58:11 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  EGAN asked  if the  new  substance could  be included  in                                                              
this bill.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DAVIS said it could be considered.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER said his staff has looked at that issue.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHRISTINE MARASIGAN,  staff to Senator Meyer, said  that issue has                                                              
been  brought up  before.  She pointed  out  that  several of  the                                                              
compounds in  Spice have already been  on a DEA watch  list, which                                                              
makes  Spice a  known  quantity,  with data  backing  up the  use,                                                              
manufacture,  and  transport.  She  further stated  that  at  this                                                              
point there is no conclusive research on the bath salts.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:00:21 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  DAVIS  noted  a  letter   of  support  from  the  Mayor  of                                                              
Anchorage,  and state troopers  on the  line to answer  questions;                                                              
she asked if anyone from DSHS was present.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:01:17 PM                                                                                                                    
CHRISTY LAWTON,  Acting Director,  Office of Children's  Services,                                                              
said this was  the first she had  heard of SB 17, and  she did not                                                              
know the department's position.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  EGAN   moved  to  report   SB  17  from   committee  with                                                              
individual  recommendations  and  attached fiscal  note(s).  There                                                              
being  no  objection, SB  17  moved  from  the Senate  Health  and                                                              
Social Services Standing Committee.