ICYMI: Nashua Telegraph Editorial: SALTS Act is the Right Step for New Hampshire

WASHINGTON – Today, The Nashua Telegraph editorial board highlighted the Synthetic Abuse and Labeling of Toxic Substances (SALTS) Act, bipartisan legislation that Senator Maggie Hassan joined in introducing to help make it easier to prosecute the sale and distribution of synthetic substances with high risks of addiction and abuse. The editorial board emphasized the importance of this “common sense legislation” in supporting law enforcement battling the opioid crisis in New Hampshire.

Senator Hassan also recently co-sponsored the Stop Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, a bipartisan bill designed to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the United States.

Click here for the full Nashua Telegraph editorial or see below for excerpts:

The always morphing chemical compounds of synthetic narcotics, as well as the toothless labeling, makes it challenging to prosecute manufacturers and users of these analogue drugs.

New legislation in the works could change that.

The Synthetic Abuse and Labeling of Toxic Substances (SALTS) Act eases the prosecution of any sale and distribution of synthetic substances with high risks of addiction and abuse, such as "bath salts" and fentanyl.

…New Hampshire is one of eight states that have seen a dramatic spike in overdoses, and the synthetic opioid death rate has skyrocketed by nearly 200 percent just from 2013 to 2014, according to the DEA.

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan joins nearly a dozen other senators in sponsoring the bipartisan SALTS Act.

…It offers a clear path to prove synthetic drugs are intended for human consumption and amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow consideration of several new factors when determining if a controlled substance analogue was intended for human consumption - this could include marketing, advertising and labeling.

Congress needs to ensure police and prosecutors can adapt as quickly as the manufacturers of synthetic drugs can modify the formula.

This common sense legislation gives them the tools to fight back as soon as these substances are on the market.

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