mr. eckhart. and certainly dr. nichols. thank you so much. i hope i pronounced mr. milione almost correctly. i was previously in a meeting and i will have to go to another meeting dealing with criminal justice but this is a very important hearing. let me thank the chairman as well, mr. buck, let me also thank the chairman of the subcommittee, mr. sensenbrenner and the chairman of the full committee and mr. conyers, ranking member of the full committee. i am grateful for the work that we have done to organize this hearing and bring the use and abuse of synthetic drugs to the attention of the subcommittee on crime. we have several witness here today who will provide us with their own unique perspectives regarding the effects and dangers of synthetic drugs. my home state has been significantly affected by proliferation of synthetic drugs. cush is a street name for the most popular illegal substance in houston right now and has caused great harm. it's a designer drug made from combinations of synthetic chemicals, sprayed on plant material then packaged like candy, smoke

mr. eckhart. thank you for your courage, and i appreciate your wife being here as well. on?e , members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today. during my career, i have worked with synthetic drugs, assessing schedule one d8 registration. my goal was to understand how the structure of a molecule engaged biological targets, better understanding how the substances interacted with the brain. i am concerned with the harms to human health presented by synthetic drugs. aeir availability for its response, including regulation. yet i do not believe that the proposed legislation would affect spice mixtures. they already -- they focus on already established types. the challenge is to preserve researchers needs well -- while preventing the chemicals. this revolves around three points. first, therapeutic uses. second, legislation should be guided by science. third, the impact on mass incarceration. -- investigators were per will pursue research with schedule one drugs. obtaining a schedule one license is not a trivial matter, and a or must be able to obtain one. i

mr. eckhart. thank you for your courage, and i appreciate your wife being here as well. >> is my microphone on? congressman buck, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today. during my career, i have worked with synthetic drugs, possessing a schedule one d8 registration. my goal was to understand how the structure of a molecule engaged biological targets, better understanding how the substances act with the brain. i am concerned with the harms to human health presented by synthetic drugs. they are availability requires a response and regulation. yet i do not believe that the proposed legislation would have prevented spice mixtures. they focus on already established types. the challenge is to preserve researchers needs while stemming the flow of dangerous chemicals. this revolves around three points. first, allowing research on potential therapeutic uses. second, legislation should be guided by science. third, the impact on mass incarceration. especially in cases where h