Currently being considered in Congress is H.R. 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act. The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), typically reserved for substances with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. This bill would also:

• enshrine and expand mandatory minimums for both foreign importation crimes and domestic drug distribution offenses, including nonviolent drug distribution involving small quantities of drugs;
• place undue restrictions on research of FRS with therapeutic potential; and
• criminalize possibly inert or harmless substances, creating an unacceptable risk of unnecessary incarceration for substances that carry no potential for abuse.

In the 1980s, policymakers enacted severe mandatory minimums for small amounts of crack cocaine, a policy driven by mythology and fear that had disastrously unfair and racially disparate consequences. Under the HALT Act, just a trace amount of a fentanyl analogue in a mixture with a combined weight of 10 grams—10 paper clips—can translate into a five-year mandatory minimum with no evidence needed that the seller even knew it contained fentanyl.

The HALT Fentanyl Act and other bills proposing the permanent class-wide scheduling of FRS are yet another iteration of the drug war’s ineffective and punitive approach. To prevent overdose, Congress must invest in public health solutions to mitigate the harms of illicit fentanyl.

Please urge your elected officials to oppose H.R. 467.