Senate Advances Bipartisan Bill to Permanently Classify Illicit Fentanyl Knockoffs as Schedule I Drugs

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, the United States Senate voted 82-12 to advance the bipartisan Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, voted in favor of the bill.
“The HALT Fentanyl Act maintains strong penalties for trafficking fentanyl, while allowing for important scientific research and medical applications to continue,”said Sen. Cantwell.“We still have more work to do on other bills to address the fentanyl scourge, from providing more treatment options, to additional resources for first responders, to more tools for law enforcement to stop traffickers and dealers.”
The bill now awaits final passage by the Senate.
The legislation would:
Permanently schedule illicit fentanyl-related substances:
Protect patients’ access to legitimate, FDA-approved fentanyl:
Support law enforcement and codify existing penalties:
Advance scientific and medical research:
In 2023 and 2024, Sen. Cantwell traveled across the State of Washington to 10 communities -- Tacoma, Everett, Tri-Cities, Seattle, Spokane, Vancouver, Port Angeles, Walla Walla, Yakima, and Longview – hearing from people on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis, including first responders, law enforcement, health care providers, and people with firsthand experience of fentanyl addiction.  She also participated in the National Tribal Opioid Summit, a gathering of approximately 900 tribal leaders, health care workers, and first responders from across the country hosted by the Tulalip Tribes following the first-ever statewide summit hosted by the Lummi Nation.  Sen. Cantwell has since used what she heard in those roundtables and related events to craft and champion specific legislative solutions, including:
In addition, Sen.Cantwell voted for a series of federal funding billsallocating $1.69 billion to combat fentanyl and other illicit drugs coming into the United States, including an additional $385.2 million to increase security at U.S. ports of entry, with the goal of catching more illegal drugs like fentanyl before they make it across the border.  Critical funding will go toward Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at land and sea ports of entries. NII technologies—like large-scale X-ray and Gamma ray imaging systems, as well as a variety of portable and handheld technologies—allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help detect and prevent contraband from being smuggled into the country without disrupting flow at the border.
A full timeline of Sen. Cantwell’s actions to combat the fentanyl crisis is availableHERE.
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