A resolution expressing support for the designation of February 23, 2025, to March 1, 2025, as "National Fentanyl Awareness Week" and raising awareness of the negative impacts of fentanyl in the United States.
Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl ActThis bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term).Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research.The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, includingpermitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances,waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, andallowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration.Finally, the bill expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of the Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray, a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance.