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Cathy Wurzer
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Lawmaker to focus on the sellers of synthetic drugs

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The Minnesota man at the center of the fight over synthetic drugs is awaiting sentencing after a federal jury convicted him of 51 crimes related to the sale of those products.

Jim Carlson owns Last Place on Earth — the Duluth store known to supply so called "designer drugs" that can cause erratic and dangerous behavior. His trial was the first major test of federal laws aimed at combating these drugs, which are usually created in laboratories overseas.

The conviction could give a boost to a group of Minnesota lawmakers working on ways to control synthetic drugs at the state level. The Select Committee on Controlled Substances and Synthetic Drugs will hold a hearing Wednesday afternoon at the capitol to learn more about the effect the drugs are having in the Twin Cities metro area.

MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Rep. Erik Simonson (DFL-Duluth, who chairs that committee.