HARRISBURG, Pa. (EYT) – Attorney General Dave Sunday is calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, a measure that would close a legal loophole allowing traffickers of fentanyl-related substances to evade harsher penalties.
Fentanyl-related substances are synthetic variations of fentanyl that were not previously subject to the same federal drug classification. That distinction has allowed traffickers to distribute them without facing the same level of prosecution.
During a one-year period from 2023 to 2024, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General seized nearly three million individual doses of fentanyl, along with 50,000 fentanyl pills. Those seizures included fentanyl-related substances.
“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,” Sunday said. “Those variations have the same disastrous effects as fentanyl, and this office remains committed to doing everything in our power to deter trafficking in Pennsylvania communities.”
Fentanyl has been the leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S. since 2018. Federal data shows that fentanyl and its analogues have killed nearly as many Americans as World War II. The crisis has been worsened by Mexican drug cartels smuggling fentanyl from China across the southern border. Between October 2021 and June 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill the entire U.S. population five times over.
Congress temporarily classified fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, but that status will expire on March 31. If passed, the HALT Fentanyl Act would make the classification permanent.
“Each and every life lost leaves a family and community devastated, so it is imperative we act with urgency to combat this scourge,” Sunday said.
The U.S. House of Representatives already passed the HALT Fentanyl Act with bipartisan support. Sunday, along with attorneys general from 24 other states, is now pushing the Senate to act. The letter sent to Senate leadership was co-led by Iowa and Virginia and joined by Pennsylvania, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
