All fentanyl-related substances could soon be classified as Schedule I substances by the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The bipartisan but Republican-led Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, also called the “HALT” Fentanyl Act, cleared the House and Senate as of June 12 and will soon hit President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
By classifying fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I substance, the bill would designate these drugs as having “high abuse potential with no accepted medical use” and prohibit any prescribing, dispensing or administering of it for any reason.
With this new classification, law enforcement would have expanded authority to penalize individuals who traffic fentanyl-related substances with stricter sentencing guidelines. It also clarifies the chemical definition of what meets these criteria to allow law enforcement to act without hesitation in response to illegal occurrences involving these substances.
Fentanyl itself, however, would remain a Schedule II substance and could continue to be prescribed for extreme pain.
The bill only applies to fentanyl-related substances, which had been temporarily classified as Schedule I substances, and would make them permanently recognized as such.
A majority of fentanyl contributing to the opioid epidemic is not due to prescriptions, but fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances that are illegally manufactured, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The bill, first introduced on January 30 by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would amend the Controlled Substances Act to make this change and would allow for ongoing research on the substance without interruption. However, the bill would require the inspector general within the Department of Justice to report to Congress on fentanyl research.
Opponents of the legislation, including The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, remarked that this permanency of classifying fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug is “based on a flawed class definition” and point out that it “fails to provide an off-ramp for removing inert or harmless substances from the drug schedule.” The group noted this bill, which would increase penalties for possessing or trafficking the substances, could also increase mass incarceration and exacerbate pretrial detentions, calling the move a “fear-based, enforcement-first response to a public health challenge.”
Following its passage, U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) criticized the largely Republican-backed bill and the Trump administration for failing to address the “root causes of addiction” and effectively dissolving the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which oversaw prevention efforts.
“If President Trump and Republicans were serious about addressing these issues, there are proven solutions we can act upon to save lives — but the HALT Fentanyl Act is not one of them,” Jayapal stated in a news release.
Others argue that the bill will better equip law enforcement to crack down on illegal fentanyl substances entering the country – a major focus of the Trump administration’s drug policy plan.
Cassidy, who introduced the legislation, said in a statement that this is “about giving law enforcement one more tool to stop fentanyl dealers.”
Lower overdose rates may result from the administration’s increased focus on stopping the spread of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl-related substances, throughout the U.S. Still, it may make resources in other areas of addiction treatment and behavioral health more difficult to manage – particularly as the administration has proposed cutting over $28.6 billion in health care and mental health-related spending.
