Senator Young, colleagues introduce bill to combat the Fentanyl epidemic, support law enforcement

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined colleagues in reintroducing the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which would permanently list fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act. Companion legislation passed the House of Representatives earlier this week.

“Illegally-created fentanyl derivatives are pouring across the southern border and devastating communities in Indiana and across the country. The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently classify these deadly drugs as Schedule I substances to ensure their sale and distribution can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I urge the Senate to pass this important legislation as soon as possible to empower law enforcement with this critical tool in the fight against opioids,” said Senator Young.

Fentanyl is a scheduled substance, but Mexican drug cartels make small chemical tweaks to fentanyl to produce drugs—fentanyl-related substances—with similar dangerous effects that are not controlled.

In response to this crisis, the DEA exercised its authority to temporarily classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. That temporary scheduling order will expire on March 31, 2025, if Congress does not act.

Under the HALT Fentanyl Act, fentanyl-related substances would remain Schedule I. In addition, the bill clarifies that the mandatory minimum penalties that apply to fentanyl also apply to the trafficking of fentanyl-related substances.

In addition to Senator Young, Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) also introduced the legislation.

Senator Young helped lead the HALT Fentanyl Act in 2023.

Full legislative text is available here.

Background:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in 2023 there were 81,083 overdose deaths in the U.S. that involved opioids.

• In 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill more than 4.9 billion people (assuming a lethal dose of two milligrams)—or enough to wipe out the entire U.S. population more than 14 times over.