It’s an ongoing battle against dangerous drugs in Illinois. The latest fight includes action by the Illinois Senate on Tuesday to advance a new drug ban targeting synthetic heroin. Building on State Senator Kyle McCarter’s 2015 drug ban targeting synthetic marijuana, the Illinois Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would make synthetic heroin illegal.
Senator McCarter says House bill 2534 adds synthetic heroin to the list of scheduled one controlled substances, which are a category of the most dangerous drugs.
McCarter says like the synthetic marijuana ban, the new legislation targets how the synthetic heroin is made. In November of 2016, The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency banned synthetic heroin, or pink, on an emergency basis. A few states, like Illinois, are now taking action. House bill 2534 received unanimous support in the Senate, and in the House back in April and now heads to the Governor.