Senate passes HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently classify all fentanyl-related drugs as Schedule I substances

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The Senate passed a bipartisan bill Friday that will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances, also known as fentanyl analogs, as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. 

The HALT Fentanyl Act passed with overwhelming support, earning 84 Senate votes while 16 opposed it. The bill aims to close loopholes exploited by drug traffickers who smuggle substances with chemical compositions similar to fentanyl but are different enough to evade legal penalties.

"What this bill does - it says, 'OK, it's illegal to bring in fentanyl.' But it recognizes that some of those attempting to bring in fentanyl will try and circumvent the law by changing the fentanyl just enough so that it becomes what is called an analog," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the bill's sponsor and a former physician, told reporters Friday ahead of the bill's passage. 

"'Oh, it's not fentanyl. You can't bust me because it's not actually fentanyl.' No, it still addicts like fentanyl. It still kills like fentanyl, and it is substantially fentanyl. So, therefore, it shall be treated by law enforcement as if it is fentanyl."

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Democrats sought to filibuster the bill's passage, arguing it did not do enough to combat the fentanyl crisis as a whole, would increase mass incarceration and limit the study of these fentanyl analogs by placing them in a more restrictive regulatory category. 

However, the bill's Republican sponsors argue it will reduce bureaucratic hurdles in the research of fentanyl analogs, serving to open the door for more scientists to study these novel substances. The arguments it will increase mass incarceration were also questioned by a Stanford University drug policy expert and former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor, Keith Humphreys, who pointed out it's already illegal to possess or traffic fentanyl analogs. 

The HALT Fentanyl Act does not create any new mandatory minimum sentencing, but it puts fentanyl-related substances under the same sentencing guidelines used for fentanyl itself.

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During a press call Friday with some of the bill's Republican sponsors ahead of the HALT Act's passage, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., noted how the nature of the U.S. drug crisis is "changing rapidly on the street, and Congress needs to respond."

"This is a major accomplishment, quite frankly, to be able to move this through in the fight against fentanyl," Lankford added. 

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Other potential measures to combat the fentanyl crisis, including efforts to bolster law enforcement's drug interdiction efforts and legislation to go after the veterinary drug xylazine, which is being added to fentanyl to make it more addictive, are among additional efforts being considered on Capitol Hill.