Synthetic Drug Industry Investigated by Nation-wide Law Enforcement Take Down

The DEA and other federal law-enforcement partners held a press conference today to present the results of Operation Log Jam, the first-ever nationwide law-enforcement action against the synthetic drug industry responsible for the production and sale of synthetic marijuana and other drugs that are often marketed as incense, bath salts or plant food. 

“Any drug that is marketed to young people is of great concern to us. So little is known about these substances, we don’t know what the long term results will be,” Michelle Leonhart, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator, said. “What really did it for DEA was the outpouring of requests for help from police and sheriffs as they were seeing this in their communities all over the country.” 

Leonhart and others who spoke to reporters at the press conference called synthetic drugs a “rapidly emerging threat” to people of all ages, especially youth. 

Operations occurred in 100 American cities and included raids in businesses such as head shops, gas stations, convenience stores, and smoke shops as well as manufacturing sites in warehouses and residences. 

Leonhart and her colleagues acknowledged the work conducted at the local and state level, with more than 30 states banning various compounds of synthetic drugs. Coalitions have been able to shut down some retailers selling synthetic drugs, but had been challenged by the more popular online sales. The law outlaws sales of synthetic drugs by both retail stores and online retailers. 

Earlier this month, President Obama signed into law new drug legislation that will permanently ban the deadly chemical compounds marketed and sold as bath salts and incense in the United States. It also outlaws similar compounds that may be produced in the future. The law bans the active ingredients of bath salts, mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, by adding them to the Food and Drug Administration’s category of substances that cannot be sold under any circumstances and also cannot be prescribed for medical purposes. The law enumerates 31 compounds that are explicitly banned, giving the precise chemical name of each. Twenty from the list are synthetic marijuana varieties, and 10 are bath salts.