U.S. House passes Senate bill to maintain anti-fentanyl laws

By Al Cross Published January 30, 2020 DRUGS, FEATURED, HEALTH POLICY

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The U.S. House passed a Senate bill Wednesday to keep deadly fentanyl and similar opioids listed as some of the most dangerous drugs, and President Trump is expected to sign it Friday, the day before the listings would expire.

The legislation would keep fentanyl compounds as Schedule I substances under the law governing the Drug Enforcement Administration, “giving law enforcement the tools they need to bring drug dealers to justice,” said a press release from Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset.

“Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, continues to be the most lethal drug for Kentucky causing nearly 800 overdose deaths in 2018 alone,” said a press release from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader. The Senate passed the bill Jan. 16.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. had more than 28,000 deaths involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone, which is used to treat addiction) in 2017, more deaths than from any other type of opioid.