WASHINGTON – The father of an Indianola teen who died after using a legal synthetic drug will share his story at an upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on the dangers of synthetic drugs. The hearing, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, will take place Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Mike Rozga will testify about how his 18-year-old son, David, committed suicide in 2010 shortly after smoking a legal, yet dangerous, synthetic marijuana known as “K2.” Following his son’s death, Rozga has worked to increase awareness about the dangers of synthetic narcotics, which can cause severe hallucinations, seizures and violent behavior.
Makers of synthetic marijuana are able to sidestep laws prohibiting the products by modifying outlawed ingredients and marketing them as not for human consumption. Legally-available synthetic drugs have been attributed to overdoses and violent behavior, and the use and abuse of synthetic narcotics is on the rise.
Tuesday’s hearing, titled “Deadly Synthetic Drugs: The Need to Stay Ahead of the Poison Peddlers,” will be streamed live HERE.
A full list of witnesses for the hearing is available below:
Witness List
Hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
On
“Deadly Synthetic Drugs: The Need to Stay Ahead of the Poison Peddlers”
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226
10:00 a.m.
Panel I
The Honorable Chuck Rosenberg
Acting Administrator
Drug Enforcement Administration
Springfield, VA
The Honorable Michael P. Botticelli
Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Executive Office of the President
Washington, DC
Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, M.D.
Deputy Director
Regulatory Programs
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Silver Spring, MD
The Honorable Richard S. Hartunian
United States Attorney
Northern District of New York
Syracuse, NY
Panel II
Mr. Mike Rozga
Indianola, IA
Chief Cathy L. Lanier
Chief of Police
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Mr. Joseph D. Coronato
Prosecutor
Ocean County, New Jersey
Toms River, NJ
Dr. Sullivan Smith, M.D.
Cookeville Regional Medical Center
Cookeville, TN
Dr. Jim Hall, Ph.D.
Epidemiologist
Nova Southeastern University
Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities
Miami, FL
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