President Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday new legislation targeted at the epidemic of illegal fentanyl, enforcing stricter sentences for those who distribute and sell the narcotic.
The President, accompanied by lawmakers and individuals who have suffered personal losses due to fentanyl, ceremoniously signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking, or HALT, of Fentanyl Act at the White House. The bill, as the President described, is a ‘historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge’.
The HALT Fentanyl Act amends the Controlled Substances Act to permanently classify illicit fentanyl derivatives as Schedule 1 narcotics. This follows the first Trump administration’s temporary restriction of all fentanyl-related substances in 2018 using a temporary Schedule 1 classification, which Congress has extended several times since.
Wednesday’s signing makes the classification permanent, while still permitting the usage of Schedule II fentanyl for sanctioned medical purposes as approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Both the House and the Senate gave the bill bipartisan support.
The President has consistently cited fentanyl as a rationale for levying tariffs on China, hoping the duties will compel the country to take more measures to curb its trafficking of the drug into the U.S. via Mexico. ‘I think we’re going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country,’ the President said.
The President has signed a bill aiming to strengthen fentanyl sentencing, a move born out of the hope that stricter penalties will curb the distribution and consumption of this deadly narcotic. As we look to the future, one can only hope that these measures are effective in achieving their purpose.