Lack of Regulation over Synthetic Drugs

Awareness has been raised over synthetic designer drugs as the number of reported cases over the death of its users increased. Synthetic drugs, often manufactured overseas without proper procedures conducted, are drugs that have been chemically tweaked to avoid the ban the United States has placed on substances which therefore make them technically legal. Christian Bjerk and Elijah Stai were both 18 years old when they were given the drug and not knowing what the drug consisted of, died from it within the same week in June 2012.

John Scherbenske of the Drug Enforcement Administration stated, “There is no known legitimate purposes for these chemicals.” These chemicals aren’t meant for  consumption;  the lack of regulation indicates that it is not safe and can be dangerous for consumption. Without proper regulation, it’s no wonder why synthetic drugs have been ‘allowed’ to circulate.  In order to get these chemicals out on the market legally, distributors label the products for chemical research rather than for recreational consumption. This not only allows the product to be sold legally but the federal government also has no means of checking the drugs or stopping its distributions in time. Western governments are trying their best to crack down on these exportations and there has been pressure to stop China, the drug’s main distributor, to stop its exportation.  Many people, such as Christian Bjerk’s parents, Debbie and Keith Bjerk, had never even heard the substance and had to do their own research to find out about it.

Works Citied

Bjerk, Debbie, and Keith Bjerk. “Mourning Family: Why Synthetic Drugs Are Your Problem, Too –   CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Griffin, Drew, and Nelli Black. “Deadly High: How Synthetic Drugs Are Killing Kids – CNN.com.” CNN.     Cable News Network, 2 Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.