Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday is advocating for the HALT Fentanyl Act, a bill aimed at addressing the fentanyl crisis by closing a loophole that allows traffickers to avoid harsher penalties. The legislation seeks to classify fentanyl-related substances under the same Schedule I category as fentanyl itself in the Controlled Substance Act. This move would enable more aggressive prosecution of traffickers dealing with lab-created variations of fentanyl, often referred to as "copycat fentanyl."
During a recent period, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General seized nearly 3 million doses of fentanyl and 50,000 fentanyl pills, highlighting the severity of the issue. Attorney General Sunday emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, "The deadliest, most dangerous drugs should be scheduled as such. Synthetic opioid manufacturers and traffickers have exploited loopholes in scheduling classifications which contributed to widespread distribution of variations of fentanyl."
The HALT Fentanyl Act has already passed in the U.S. House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support and is now awaiting approval in the Senate. The bill is backed by a multi-state coalition, including states like Iowa, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, among others. The act aims to permanently classify fentanyl and its analogues as Schedule I drugs, a status set to expire on March 31 unless new legislation is enacted.