Congress has passed legislation that is focused primarily on the permanent banning of analogues of Fentanyl. It also includes provisions, which according to one GOP member would eliminate barriers in conducting research regarding marijuana and Schedule I drugs.
On Thursday, the House approved the Halt all Lethal Trafficking (HALT), Fentanyl Act with a vote of 321 to 104. This legislation was approved by the Senate back in March, and now it is headed to Donald Trump.
It is nearly identical to an earlier version approved in the House of Representatives by that chamber back in February. Advocates have expressed concerns over the bill’s primary purpose to criminalize users for a wider variety of controlled drugs.
Morgan Griffith, R-VA, explained that the other elements of the legislation would facilitate research into Schedule I substances like marijuana.
“What we did in this bill—and I think it’s something that everybody on the floor can be proud of—is we put into this bill the capability to do extensive research by our research universities, By the [National Institutes of Health and] by the [Food and Drug Administration]” Griffiths said.
This bill is a good example of how to do that. Schedule I, the law on marijuana that was in place at the time, never permitted realistic or scientific research. It created many of the issues we are facing today. We fixed that problem with this bill.
The crux of this legislation is the issue for advocates. It would include analogues which have not been shown to be as dangerous as the well-known opioid. The scheduling change, they say, would result in increased mandatory sentences and a mentality of war on drugs that could lead to mass imprisonment.
It is the third time that the House has passed the HALT Fentanyl Act.
Maritza Medina is the director of federal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. She said that after the House passed the previous version of the HALT Act in February, “the only thing it will do is stop the health measures that our communities require to remain alive.”
This bill is counterproductive and will only exacerbate the racial imbalances in criminal law, as well as lead to a more powerful, unregulated drug supply.
HALT Fentanyl Act also contains provisions that will expedite the process of registering studies involving Schedule I substances such as marijuana.
The bill contains some research provisions that are very similar to those in the marijuana measure signed by former president Joe Biden in 2022.
According to the law, a researcher who has been registered by the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct research on Schedule I or II drugs must have his/her request evaluated within 30 days after sending a notification to the Justice Department.
Non-registered candidates must submit their application within 45 days from the date of notification.
It also stipulates that federally funded research, such as that conducted or funded at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The bill also states that duplicate registrations will no longer be needed for researchers who are all affiliated with the same institution and have been approved to study a Schedule I substance.
Although it also allows researchers to manufacture controlled substances in limited quantities, cannabis is specifically exempted under the manufacturing provisions.
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