NCJ Number
103874
Date Published
1985
Length
212 pages
Annotation
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget considers the nature and effect of 'designer' drugs, the extent of their abuse, and measures that should be taken to counter the spread of their use.
Abstract
A statement by the committee chairman indicates designer drugs are thousands of times more potent than cocaine and heroin and can be inexpensively manufactured in clandestine laboratories at a fraction of the cost it takes to smuggle illegal substances into the country. Dr. Gary Henderson, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of California at Davis, documents the potency of one strain of designer drugs (fentanyl), which is particularly deadly. Dr. Henderson predicts the spread of designer drug use unless legislators, criminal justice personnel, and medical professionals cooperate to achieve prevention and control of abuse. A parent testifies about her son's addiction to demerol, a drug that causes irreversible paralysis and death if taken excessively. An assistant professor of neurology at Stanford University testifies about the nature and effect of demerol. Law enforcement representatives from Florida and California discuss the problem of designer drug abuse in their States and some of the legislative efforts to outlaw their misuse. Appended relevant articles and other resource materials.