HALT Fentanyl Act
Key claim: The HALT Fentanyl Act permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, applies fentanyl-analogue quantity thresholds and penalties, and eases certain DEA registration requirements for Schedule I research.
Abstract
(HR27 · 119th Congress) Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act or the HALT Fentanyl Act This bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term). Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain schedule I research. The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances, waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration. Finally, the bill expresses the sense that Congress agrees with the interpretation of Controlled Substances Act in United States v. McCray , a 2018 case decided by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. In that case, the court held that butyryl fentanyl, a controlled substance, can be considered an analogue of fentanyl even though, under the Controlled Substances Act, the term controlled substance analogue specifically excludes a controlled substance. Latest action (2025-02-10): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Why this matters
Permanent class-wide Schedule I placement of fentanyl-related substances would lock in the strictest CSA controls — including mandatory-minimum-eligible quantity thresholds — on a broad chemical class currently covered only by temporary scheduling orders. For providers and researchers, the bill’s companion easing of Schedule I registration requirements is the first meaningful federal attempt to reduce administrative barriers to studying these substances, which has implications for overdose-reversal and addiction-treatment research.