Westbank Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has expressed his disappointment following Senate Democrats' objection to the passage of his Halt Lethal Trafficking (HALT) Fentanyl Act. The legislation seeks to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), a status that is due to expire at the end of 2024.

Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this legislation with a bipartisan vote of 289 to 133. “This classification provides law enforcement vital tools to go after criminals flooding communities with deadly drugs,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Allowing Schedule I status to expire handicaps frontline law enforcement, emboldening those exploiting our communities with fentanyl. It is disappointing that Senate Democrats chose to block this important legislation.”

Cassidy had earlier urged his colleagues on the Senate floor to support this legislation and highlighted National Police Week and the importance of providing law enforcement with necessary tools to combat the fentanyl crisis. The HALT Fentanyl Act enjoys support from multiple law enforcement agencies.

Drug overdoses, largely driven by fentanyl, are currently the leading cause of death among young adults aged 18 to 45 years old in the United States. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl account for 75 percent of total U.S. overdose deaths and the Schedule I classification for fentanyl-related substances is set to expire after 2024.

The proposed legislation also aims at removing barriers that impede researchers' ability to conduct studies on fentanyl-related substances and allows for exemptions if such research provides evidence that it would be beneficial for specific substances to be classified differently than Schedule I, such as for medical purposes.

From August 2021 through August 2022, a record-breaking number of Americans - 107,735 - lost their lives to drug overdoses. The surge was primarily fueled by synthetic opioids, including illegal fentanyl, which are largely manufactured in Mexico from raw materials supplied by China. In 2022, over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills were seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), more than double the amount seized in 2021.