Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jul 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Jim Walsh

OFFICIALS CALL DRUG VERDICT A VICTORY

Case Boosts Effort Vs. Synthetic Substances

Federal officials lauded a jury's guilty verdict Friday as an 
important breakthrough in the crackdown against highly addictive 
synthetic drugs that have been blamed for suicides and irrational behavior.

Michael Rocky Lane, 51, was accused of altering MDPV, a powerful 
stimulant added by emergency order in 2011 to the federal list of 
controlled substances, to create synthetic drugs with similar effects 
to methamphetamine and cocaine.

Lane was found guilty Friday of conspiracy to manufacture and 
distribute controlled-substance analogues and possession with intent 
to distribute controlled-substance analogues.

The scheme involved eight other people who were arrested after agents 
executed hundreds of search warrants nationwide a year ago in 
"Operation Log Jam."

Federal agents posed as Hells Angels members in making a series of 
drug buys in the Valley, including a June 20, 2012, buy of 2,500 
packets for $5,600 in a Thunderbird Road parking lot, according to a 
federal affidavit.

Federal drug officials said after the operation that 91people were 
arrested during raids in 109 cities and that they seized the 
equivalent of 18 million drug packets.

"This is our first case. That's why we are so excited," said Cosme 
Lopez, a spokesman for John S. Leonardo, U.S. attorney for the 
District of Arizona. "This is a new venture for the U.S. attorneys everywhere."

Special Agent Ramona Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the federal Drug 
Enforcement Administration, said Lane's prosecution is the first 
involving production of designer drugs in the U.S that are chemically 
engineered to mimic MDPV. A previous case in New York targeted imported drugs.

An emergency order in October 2011 made MDPV a controlled substance 
under the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986, 
which regulates the structure of designer drugs. Synthetic drugs 
produced in a lab are designed to mimic or amplify the effects of 
naturally occurring drugs, such as cocaine or marijuana.

Use of these designer drugs has been linked to suicides, violent 
behavior and medical problems.

Lane hired a chemist to slightly alter the makeup of MDPV and 
produced a series of drugs that were just as potent at a Tempe 
warehouse through his company, Dynamic Distribution, Sanchez said.

The new drug was known as "Eight Ballz Ultra Premium Glass Cleaner." 
Other drugs were known as "Amphed Lady Bug Attractant Exuberance 
Powder" and "Snowman Glass Cleaner."

Prosecutors were able to prove the drugs were pharmacologically 
similar to Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances, with 
effects on the central nervous system that were equal to or greater 
than those of methamphetamine or cocaine.

"Phoenix served as a major hub," Sanchez said, with the drugs 
produced in Tempe distributed throughout the United States. "The harm 
that was inflicted by these drugs is only matched by the profits 
these people made by selling them."

She said the other eight defendants were accused of conspiring with 
Lane. They have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Four are 
Valley residents, while the others are from California, Minnesota and 
New Jersey.

The co-conspirators were identified by federal authorities as 
Nicholas Pascal Zizzo of Phoenix; Benjamin Joshua Lowenstein of 
Phoenix; David Titus of Phoenix; Clinton Strunk of Mesa; Vincent 
Collura of New Jersey; Andrew Scott Freeman of Minnesota; Scott Stone 
of Minnesota; and Daniel Pollock of Escondido, Calif.

Federal officials hope the verdict sends a message to others that 
altering the chemical composition of "bath salts" and other designer 
drugs and labeling them as "not fit for human consumption" will not 
protect them from arrest and prosecution, Sanchez said.

The case was tried before U.S. District Judge David Campbell from 
June 25 until Friday. Lane is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 21.

Lopez said Lane faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $1 
million fine or both.

"Individuals who manufacture and distribute these mislabeled designer 
drugs are responsible for products that have been linked to 
overdoses, deaths and hallucinations," Leonardo said in a prepared statement.
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