Bipartisan Congressional Group Pushes for Permanent Fentanyl Ban
The proposed legislation would also end mandatory minimum sentencing rules for anyone convicted of possessing or trafficking these substances based solely on the quantity of drugs they have.
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A bipartisan group in the House, led by Reps. Chris Pappas, Dan Newhouse and Ted Budd, is set to introduce legislation to label fentanyl-related substances—copies of the powerful opioid often found in other illicit drugs—as “Schedule 1” narcotics. This would allow researchers to put some versions of fentanyl into less-controlled classes, reports Bloomberg News. The legislation would also end mandatory minimum sentencing rules for anyone convicted of possessing or trafficking these substances based solely on the quantity of drugs they have, leaving sentencing up to federal guidelines and the courts.
While the Biden administration has recommended coupling a permanent ban on fentanyl substances with an exemption from mandatory minimum sentences for some people who are convicted for trafficking the newly prohibited substances, civil rights groups have urged Congress to reject that proposal, saying the broad re-scheduling order would expand mass incarceration and worsen racial disparities in criminal justice. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 104,288 people died in the U.S. of drug overdoses in the year up to September 2021, the highest ever recorded. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in 2021 they seized a record amount of fentanyl coming into the U.S.
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