U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D., and Bill Cassidy have introduced the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act, which would permanently designate fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Overdoses driven largely by fentanyl have become the leading cause of death among young adults aged 18 to 45, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl accounting for 66 percent of all U.S. overdose fatalities. The current temporary Schedule I status is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2025.
The legislation also aims to remove obstacles that currently restrict researchers from studying fentanyl-related substances. It provides for exemptions that would allow certain substances to be reclassified if research shows they could be beneficial for medical purposes.
Between August 2021 and August 2022, a record 107,735 Americans died from drug overdoses, a surge primarily driven by synthetic opioids such as illicit fentanyl. Much of this fentanyl is manufactured in Mexico using raw materials sourced from China. In 2022, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials seized over 50.6 million counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl—more than double the amount seized in 2021.