The classification will increase penalties for those who traffic as well as sell the drug.
Right before the government funding vote last week, the Senate brought the HALT Fentanyl Act to the floor for a vote, and it passed 84 to 16. The 16 who voted against the bill were all Democrats, with the exception of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is registered as an independent but is often one of the more left-wing Senators than Democrats on issues concerning spending.
All the "nay" votes included Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Corey Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chri Murphy of Connecticut, Alex Padilla of California, Bernie Sander of Vermont, Adam Schiff of California, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont, and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and cosponsored by over 30 other senators, stated that fentanyl will be classified as a schedule-1 narcotic, which will increase penalties for those who traffic as well as sell the drug.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stated that the bill “gives law enforcement a critical tool to go after the criminals bringing this poison into our country and selling it on our streets.” In addition to placing fentanyl on the schedule-1 drug list, all copycat versions of the drug sold by drug traffickers would also be classified as a schedule-1 drug.
Fentanyl is one of the most lethal illicit drugs, and is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the state of Texas. About 2 milligrams, or 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is a lethal dose.
According to PBS, the bill will also make it easier to conduct research on the drug, to see its impacts.
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