Statement on House Passage of HALT Fentanyl Act, Advocates Urge Senate to Oppose It and Support Lifesaving Health Solutions to Fentanyl and Overdose
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act (H.R. 27) in a 312-108 vote. This counterproductive bill would permanently schedule all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I without first testing them for benefits or harm, blocking potential research that could uncover new overdose medications. It would also create new mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl-related substances – harsh penalties that will shatter families and communities, allow for unjust sentences that do not consider individual circumstances, and divert resources away from health interventions that are desperately needed to curb the fentanyl overdose crisis.