Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., announced today that she will introduce legislation to ban 2C-E, a synthetic drug that recently resulted in the death of one Minnesotan and hospitalized several others.

You can read more about the mass overdose in the Twin Cities last week by visiting the Grand Forks Herald website.

In a written statement, Klobuchar said Congress needs to act now “before these substances endanger any more lives.”

“These dangerous drugs pose serious risks to the public and have tragically killed and injured Minnesotans,” she wrote. “These drugs should be made illegal and the chemicals used to make them should be banned so that they can no longer be easily purchased online and in stores around the country.”

Klobuchar said Monday that she will work to include 2C-E in the Dangerous Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill she introduced last week along with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and five other senators. The bill would permanently ban five chemicals found in synthetic drug K2 that the Drug Enforcement Administration has temporarily banned. In addition, the legislation would treat K2 and other synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and other banned narcotics.

Klobuchar is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, which covers issues relating to drug control policy.