01/27/2012 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

                  SB 140-CATHINONE BATH SALTS                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:28:46 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 140.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:29:02 PM                                                                                                                    
KEVIN MEYER, sponsor of SB 140,  stated that SB 140 will classify                                                               
certain  synthetic  cathinones  as   a  schedule  IIA  controlled                                                               
substance. This street drug is  marketed as bath salts with names                                                               
that target kids, and it has become a problem in Anchorage.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
The USDEA classified  synthetic cathinones as a  schedule I drug,                                                               
and  the Municipality  of  Anchorage, the  U.S.  military and  33                                                               
states  have banned  its use.  Because the  drug is  not illegal,                                                               
kids and  parents may not  know the harmful effects.  He deferred                                                               
to the  committee to  determine the  correct penalty,  and stated                                                               
that  his   intent  was  to   focus  on  the   manufacturers  and                                                               
distributers rather than the casual user.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:33:07 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH  said that when he  first heard about bath  salts he                                                               
thought it  was a compound that  was sold in retail  outlets, but                                                               
that's incorrect. Bath salts is just  a name for the compound and                                                               
it's actually being marketed through head shops.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER said  that's correct; bath salts are  legal and not                                                               
regulated,  just  as  synthetic  cannabinoids  were  marketed  as                                                               
incense.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH observed  that it isn't sold at a  grocery store and                                                               
it's not like Sudafed, which can  be used to make something else.                                                               
This is a special product that has a common sounding name.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR MEYER  agreed and  added that  it might  also be  sold in                                                               
some convenience stores.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH said  he'd like to know how it  compares to the drug                                                               
known as "Spice."                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
2:34:44 PM                                                                                                                    
DR.  MICHAEL COOPER,  Deputy  State  Epidemiologist, Division  of                                                               
Public Health,  Department of Health and  Social Services (DHSS),                                                               
stated  that synthetic  cathinones  known as  bath  salts are  an                                                               
important  public health  problem.  The affects  from using  bath                                                               
salts appear to  be more significant than for  the synthetic drug                                                               
"Spice."                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Synthetic   cathinones  are   the   active   compounds  and   the                                                               
prepackaged powders are usually made  in China or India. They are                                                               
for  sale  online  and  in  stores  in  Alaska  and  are  usually                                                               
deceitfully labeled.  To avoid regulation they  are almost always                                                               
labeled "not  for human consumption,"  even though  their purpose                                                               
is  for  recreational  abuse by  snorting,  smoking,  intravenous                                                               
injection, or being rectally administered.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
These synthetic  cathinones are derived from  the parent compound                                                               
cathinone,  a  schedule I  substance  under  the U.S.  Controlled                                                               
Substances  Act  and  both  are  similar  to  amphetamines.  They                                                               
increase the level of certain  neurotransmitters in the brain and                                                               
create  an  adrenalin  rush,  a   sense  of  euphoria,  increased                                                               
arousal, and alertness. The desired  affects are similar to those                                                               
found with amphetamines, cocaine and  ecstasy, but there are also                                                               
a host  of unpredictable and  undesirable effects.  These include                                                               
agitation, aggression, hallucinations, paranoia, and seizures.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
There  are  widespread reports  of  crimes  and bizarre  behavior                                                               
attributed  to abuse  of these  compounds. Patient  high on  bath                                                               
salts can be a real danger  to themselves and others. The Journal                                                               
of  Orthopedics  described   a  life-threatening  skin  infection                                                               
thought  to  be related  to  bath  salt injection,  resulting  in                                                               
amputation of the patient's arm and a radical mastectomy.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
There  is  no quick  way  to  detect  synthetic cathinones  in  a                                                               
patient in  Alaska at this  time. These drugs  do not show  up on                                                               
routine drug tests. There's a lab  in California that can be used                                                               
to   screen  patients   for  confirmation   of  these   synthetic                                                               
cathinones  in their  urine. There  is  also no  antidote and  no                                                               
specific treatment.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
These drugs  are relatively new  on the recreational  drug scene.                                                               
They  were created  in  the  1950s as  a  possible treatment  for                                                               
chronic  fatigue,  but  were  found  to have  a  high  abuse  and                                                               
addiction  potential so  they  fell out  of  favor. They  started                                                               
getting popular in Europe about  six years ago and widespread use                                                               
started in  the U.S. just  a couple of  years ago. The  number of                                                               
calls to  poison control centers nationwide  increased from about                                                               
300 in  2010 to over 6,000  in 2011. Over 30  states have already                                                               
enacted legislation banning the  sale and possession of compounds                                                               
containing  certain synthetic  cathinones.  The Drug  Enforcement                                                               
Agency used  its emergency scheduling  authority to  make certain                                                               
synthetic cathinones  temporarily controlled while  formulating a                                                               
long-term policy. Most states have  controlled one or more of the                                                               
most common synthetic  cathinones, but they can easily  be made a                                                               
little different  and still have powerful  affects. Washington is                                                               
one state  that has enacted broader  legislation and Pennsylvania                                                               
incorporated some amendments to address this problem.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
The  Alaska  section  of epidemiology  published  a  bulletin  in                                                               
October 2011 documenting  a few case reports of  bath salts abuse                                                               
in Alaska,  and emergency room  doctors have  detailed encounters                                                               
with  patients under  the influence  of these  drugs. There  have                                                               
reportedly been about 15 calls  from Alaska to the poison control                                                               
centers,  which is  an indicator  that they're  around and  being                                                               
abused.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Public health  considers the abuse of  these synthetic cathinones                                                               
to be a growing threat.  They're widely available and may contain                                                               
different   potent  psychoactive   compounds.  They   may  create                                                               
different and  dangerous side effects,  and by all  accounts they                                                               
are  gaining in  popularity.  An increasingly  younger cohort  is                                                               
abusing these  drugs, in part  because they are  widely available                                                               
and appealing.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:42:40 PM                                                                                                                    
ORIN DYM,  Forensic Laboratory  Manager, State  Crime Laboratory,                                                               
said he was available to answer questions.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH  asked if Alaska  law enforcement officers  had sent                                                               
any of this material to the lab for analysis.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.    DYM   answered    yes;   the    most   common    is   3,4-                                                               
methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MVPV) followed  by Methylone, both of                                                               
which are  an ecstasy  equivalent. The  lab has  received various                                                               
other compounds,  primarily from  Anchorage, Kenai and  the MatSu                                                               
Valley. Samples have come in from the rest of Alaska as well.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH asked  if it's possible to tell if  the compound was                                                               
bought  online   and  mailed  to   Alaska  or  sold   in  Alaskan                                                               
establishments.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DYM replied  there  was  no way  of  knowing,  but they  are                                                               
available both ways,  and typically sold in  half gram quantities                                                               
for about $40.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:44:47 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL  asked if there  was an established  protocol for                                                               
testing for these compounds.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. DYM replied  the crime lab is already  capable of identifying                                                               
them.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COGHILL asked if it's a blood test.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. DYM  explained that  the lab  does bulk  drug identification,                                                               
but  it does  not perform  toxicology  and analysis  of drugs  in                                                               
blood. Those methods are still in the development stage.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR FRENCH summarized that the  lab can identify the powder but                                                               
can't detect it in someone's blood.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DYM said  that's correct,  but a  lot of  private toxicology                                                               
labs are working on a test protocol to make that determination.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:46:02 PM                                                                                                                    
QUINLAN  STEINER,   Public  Defender,  Public   Defender  Agency,                                                               
expressed concern about  the level of offense and  asked if there                                                               
was any consideration given to  dropping it to schedule III. That                                                               
would be  similar to what was  done last year with  the synthetic                                                               
cannabinoids bill. He noted that  schedule IIa offenses have some                                                               
of the most  severe penalties available under  the state criminal                                                               
code.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  FRENCH said  the  sponsor indicated  an  interest in  that                                                               
inquiry, and  the committee would  be mindful about where  it set                                                               
the penalties.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:48:17 PM                                                                                                                    
KATE BURKHART,  Executive Director, Advisory Board  on Alcoholism                                                               
and Drug Abuse  (ABADA), clarified that she was  speaking only on                                                               
behalf of the  board, and noted the formal letter  of support for                                                               
SB 140 in the packets. Responding  to an earlier comment from the                                                               
Chair  about  whether  these  substances   were  used  for  other                                                               
legitimate purposes, she  said the board initially  had that same                                                               
concern,  but  that  is  not  the case.  She  said  that  to  her                                                               
knowledge these  substances have  no legitimate medical  or food-                                                               
based purpose.  They are  created to stimulate  the user  and are                                                               
deceptively marketed  to circumvent  regulations. With  regard to                                                               
Mr. Steiner's  comments about the  appropriate level  of offense,                                                               
she said  the effect of  synthetic cathinones  on the user  is at                                                               
least if  not more serious  than synthetic THC  and cannabinoids.                                                               
They  are the  equivalent of  methamphetamines and  amphetamines,                                                               
which are schedule IIa substances.  The penalty for possession of                                                               
a IIa substance is very severe, but  if the intent is to focus on                                                               
those  that manufacture  and distribute  the  substance then  the                                                               
higher  penalty  is appropriate.  The  effect  on the  user,  who                                                               
reportedly is a  younger cohort and often  less sophisticated, is                                                               
very severe.  Classifying these compounds  as schedule  IIa drugs                                                               
is an appropriate  use of the Legislature's power  to regulate to                                                               
protect the health and safety of Alaskans, she concluded.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:51:42 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR FRENCH closed public testimony  and announced he would hold                                                               
SB 140  in committee. He  commented that  this brings up  all the                                                               
debates about drug sentencing and  penalties. The point is to get                                                               
people to stop  using drugs when they're home  working and living                                                               
as free  citizens. Putting them  in prison for 24  months doesn't                                                               
solve that  problem, and  prisons are  expensive. The  sponsor is                                                               
sensitive to that, as is the committee.