WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently enacted legislation that included provisions authored by U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent (PA-15) to ban several dangerous synthetic drugs yesterday paved the way for the first nationwide crackdown on the designer synthetic drug industry. The national offensive, known as Operation Log Jam, was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the support of multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

“I am extremely proud my efforts to ban synthetic drugs helped provide our nation’s law enforcement officials the ability to crackdown on this increasingly dangerous and illegal industry,” said Rep. Dent. “Operation Log Jam not only removed significant amounts of harmful drugs from our communities, but sent a strong message to the producers of these substances that federal, state and local authorities are cracking down on the manufacturing and sale of synthetic drugs.”

Provisions of Dent’s legislation, which banned harmful substances like K2, Spice and ‘bath salts’, were signed into law earlier this month as a part of S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). The enactment of S. 3187 gave federal law enforcement officials the authority to disrupt the growing domestic synthetic drug industry. Yesterday’s operation, which occurred simultaneously in over 100 U.S. cities, resulted in the seizure of roughly 5 million packets of drugs, the confiscation of more than $36 million in cash and the arrest of 90 individuals.

Administrator of the DEA Michele M. Leonhart called Rep. Dent yesterday to inform him of Operation Log Jam and thank him for his work on promoting synthetic drug awareness.

To learn more about Operation Log Jam, please visit the DEA at http://www.justice.gov/dea/

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