WHAT TOOK SO LONG? –
Feb. 6, 2025 – “It’s the most obvious thing in the world to be in support of,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said in a speech backing the bill. “Fentanyl is supposed to be used in the operating room, it is supposed to be used on the battlefield. It is not meant to be laced into street drugs and sold online to kids.”
The legislation permanently reclassifies most fentanyl as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The bill would not impact the Schedule II status of legal fentanyl that has Food and Drug Administration approval for medical use.
Other drugs with Schedule I classification, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), include heroin, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy and peyote.
The bill would also close the so-called “analogues loophole,” which permits traffickers to tweak a chemical component of the opioid to circumvent restrictions on pure fentanyl.
