Governor Branstad, First Lady Chris Branstad commend Indianola's Rozga for testimony at U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Deadly Synthetic Drugs

Press Release

Today, Gov. Terry E. Branstad and First Lady Chris Branstad commended Indianola's Mike and Jan Rozga for their testimony before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the deadly use of synthetic drugs.

"I'm proud of Mike and Jan's courage to publicly discuss the dangers of deadly synthetic drugs in front of federal leaders," said Gov. Branstad. "They have been an active and effective voice for helping tackle the elusive synthetic drug problem that is pervasive in the United States. I appreciate Senator Grassley's leadership on this issue and I hope the Rozga's story will help shed light in making necessary reforms at the federal level."

At the invitation of Chairman Chuck Grassley, Mike Rozga testified about how his 18-year-old son, David, committed suicide in 2010 shortly after smoking a legal, yet dangerous, synthetic marijuana known as "K2." Following his son's death, Rozga has worked to increase awareness about the dangers of synthetic narcotics, which can cause severe hallucinations, seizures and violent behavior.

In 2012, Gov. Branstad signed into law Senate File 2343, tightening controls on dangerous synthetic drugs. The measure expanded the State's ban on synthetic drugs to include many more variations of the way synthetic drugs were manufactured.

However, makers of synthetic drugs are able to sidestep federal laws prohibiting the products by modifying outlawed ingredients and marketing them as not for human consumption. Legally-available synthetic drugs have been attributed to overdoses and violent behavior, and the use and abuse of other forms of synthetic drugs, notably opioids, is on the rise.

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