Dear Neighbor,
Recently, I was appointed by DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen to the Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs. This committee will examine drug abuse issues in Minnesota and will recommend policies to combat the spread of the sale of synthetic drugs across the state. The committee plans to issue a report with recommendations for the 2014 legislative session. Drug abuse is an extremely serious problem in our state and I’m looking forward to finding solutions to prevent our young people from enduring the devastating effects of these illegal drugs.
As part of our committee work, members of the committee attended a community forum in Duluth last Friday hosted by Attorney General Lori Swanson on the very troubling increase of synthetic drug abuse. We heard from community members in Duluth as well as emergency room physicians and the police chief. During the forum we heard that synthetic drugs are sold legally in tobacco shops and “head shops” across the state – completely unregulated. Some would consider these drugs to be more dangerous than heroin, cocaine, meth, and marijuana. The chemical compounds can cause people to inflict great and often permanent harm to themselves and can bring on the lasting effects of drug-induced psychosis. Because they often only are staffed by one doctor, emergency rooms in some communities – especially in Duluth – are not in a position to handle the emergencies cause by these drugs. This has sometimes led to other citizens not being able to receive the care they need for other emergencies. Several states have enacted legislation to address this issue and we are working to model legislation next session based on those models.
I was particularly moved by the very sad and compelling testimony by a mother about her 24 year old son who has been permanently placed in a state institution, in restraints because of violent psychosis caused by the use of synthetic drugs. He will never recover. The costs are very high and mostly uncompensated to the hospitals. We heard another story from a young woman who has permanent damage from purchasing synthetic marijuana, believing it was legal because she purchased it at one of the shops. Now she has severe seizures and cannot drive herself to work. I believe it would be important to do an education campaign to alert people to the dangers of these drugs as well preventing these shops from selling these dangerous chemicals.
Prenatal Partners for Life
On Tuesday evening, I attended the Prenatal Partners for Life dinner. This is a non-profit organization that helps women and families who receive an adverse diagnosis with their pregnancies (i.e. Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, Trisomy 18). This group does great work helping women through the pregnancy and after the baby is born to offer love and care for their child. Sometimes, the life of the child lasts only a few hours. For others, it’s many years. It was amazing to hear the stories of the love and specialness of these children and the gifts they are to their families. I’m proud of the work this organization does to help women who may be otherwise encouraged to have abortions. The guest speaker at the dinner was Matt Birk, a former Vikings and Baltimore Ravens player. Birk gained notoriety recently for refusing to go to the White House with the Ravens because of the President’s praise for Planned Parenthood.
The dinner featured an auction where people were given the opportunity to bid for a beautiful smooth coat Collie puppy. Matt’s girls were begging for it and they kept bidding on it while Matt just smiled. I assumed he could not say no to those beautiful little girls of his. They won the bidding at $600 and then the little girls took the puppy and walked over to another little girl whose mother started PPFL, a mother of 11. Matt's girls handed the puppy to the little girl and said, “This is for you for your birthday.” The crowd thought that Matt bought the puppy for his girls, but I was close enough to what was going on and the puppy went to a little girl who never would have been able to have a dog of her own and who lost her little brother, her best friend, just a short time ago. I heard her say, “This puppy is for me?” Matt's girls were giggling and saying, "It is, it really is!" The little girl went over to Matt and threw her arms around him and they both were grinning from ear to ear. It was a wonderful night. Matt is a great man, husband, and father of six.
Civil Air Patrol Award Ceremony
Last week I had the privilege of attending the Civil Air Patrol Award Ceremony at the Lake Elmo Airport. The Civil Air Patrol is a non-profit organization that does great work training young people in aviation, search and rescue missions, and other humanitarian work. I continue to be impressed with this fantastic organization.
As always, I am interested in your feedback. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Rep.Kathy.Lohmer@House.MN or contact my office at 651-296-4244. You can also send mail to my office address: 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.
Sincerely,
Kathy