Sens. Cassidy, Burr ask Biden administration to support their bill to make fentanyl a permanent Schedule I substance

In a push back against the spread of fentanyl overdoses throughout the United States, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) wrote to National Drug Control Policy director Rahul Gupta last week, asking for support on legislation to permanently classify the substance.

The HALT Fentanyl Act (S.3336) was introduced by the senators in December 2021 but has sat without progress before the Committee on the Judiciary since then. Its goal is to get ahead of the current, impending expiration of Schedule I classification for fentanyl later this year and to permanently enshrine its state under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

“Fentanyl is now the number one cause of death for Americans 18 to 45 years of age. Fentanyl poisoning killed more people in the 18 to 45 year age group last year than COVID-19, suicide, car accidents, or gun violence,” the senators wrote. “Instead of taking swift action to save our nation’s youth, the Biden administration has put forward proposals that do not solve the problem, choosing instead to promote their political wish list.”

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that more than 100,000 overdose deaths had occurred in the United States, representing a nearly 30 percent increase from the previous year. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid often, easily, and cheaply added to other drugs, has played a part in that.

While the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sent a proposal to Congress last year that focused on combating illicitly manufactured fentanyl, Cassidy and Burr attacked that proposal for doing away with certain mandatory minimum sentences and for focusing on certain criminal justice goals. As a result, they criticized the Biden administration for what they perceived as a failure to support bipartisan legislative solutions to fentanyl.

“Not only is the delay of permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances contributing to the overdose crisis, but it is also bolstering China and the Mexican cartels,” the senators wrote. “Tens of thousands of pounds of fentanyl are being trafficked into the U.S every year. Since 2013, China has been the principal source of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and the precursor chemicals from which they are produced. Chinese product is commonly shipped to Mexico and smuggled by cartels into the U.S illicit drug market. Traffickers have favored fentanyl-related substances to skirt around committing the crime of trafficking conventional fentanyl, a Schedule I controlled substance.”

In addition to the permanent classification of the drug, the HALT Fentanyl Act would promote greater research into fentanyl, focus on streamlining the registration of researchers who study Schedule I substances and already have other such registrations, and eliminate several regulations requiring authorized research institutions to submit additional applications for other research staff who pursue research under an existing registrant.

Cassidy and Burr claimed that pushers of illicit fentanyl would continue to grow and profit off American deaths without quick, strong action. They urged the Biden administration to support their legislation instead of its proposals.