Measure to Classify All Versions of Fentanyl as Illegal Gains Support

A proposed measure that would classify all chemically tweaked versions of fentanyl as illegal received support from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham this week, Reuters reports.

The legislation is designed to increase prosecutions of traffickers and makers of the fentanyl-like drugs, known as analogues. It was proposed by the Justice Department and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. At a hearing on Tuesday, Graham said he is “very sympathetic” to the idea of the measure. He called fentanyl a “drug of mass destruction.”

Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a temporary emergency ban on fentanyl analogues, which is due to expire in February 2020. The ban has helped the agency expedite investigations of new fentanyl analogues without first having to chemically analyze and classify each one separately.
According to DEA Chief Operations Officer Greg Cherundolo, since the temporary ban took effect, there has been a 40 percent drop in new fentanyl analogues coming into the country.