A bill that has cleared the U. S. Senate designates all forms of illegal fentanyl as Schedule 1 narcotics. It passed in the upper chamber of Congress on Monday.
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released a statement noting that, “Last year, more Tennesseans died from opioid overdoses than were killed in car crashes. And the leading cause of these opioid related deaths was fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin.” He continued, “The opioid crisis is ravaging Tennessee communities, and by designating all forms of illegal fentanyl as Schedule I controlled substances, this bill will save thousands of Tennessee lives.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, almost all the illegal fentanyl coming to the United States is produced in China. Alexander said members of Congress on a recent visit to the country, as well as the Trump administration, made a request of the government there. “We asked the Chinese officials to control all forms of fentanyl and to allow Chinese narcotics agents to go after anyone in China who uses or produces fentanyl illegally or improperly.”
Fentanyl-like substances can be created by modifying the chemical structure of fentanyl to escape law enforcement scrutiny, including manufacturing, distribution, importation and exportation. The legislation passed in the Senate would make fentanyl analogues Schedule 1 narcotics. Scheduling fentanyl analogues as Schedule I narcotics would place the most stringent restrictions on the distribution of these substances, and allow for strict law enforcement penalties, including criminal penalties.
According to data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, excluding methadone, for the 12-month period ending October of 2018 reached 30,511, more than triple the corresponding data for the period ending October of 2015