Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office has joined a coalition of 25 states asking the U.S. Senate to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act.
The group of 25 AGs say passage of the act would close the copycat fentanyl loophole and save American lives.
Since 2018, fentanyl has killed nearly as many Americans as those who died in World War II, according to the coalition. The AGs also say problem has been made worse by Mexican drug cartels smuggling Chinese-made copycat fentanyl across the southern border.
Murrill
| File photo
“How many more deaths should we endure for us to realize that the dangers of this substance are real?” West Virginia AG J.B. McCuskey, a Republican, said in a press release. “Everyone should be aware of the serious danger posed by fentanyl, which is tainting the entire supply of illegal drugs and counterfeit pills.
“Fentanyl and its analogues have made their way onto our streets with alarming regularity, and overdose deaths related to fentanyl now surpass deaths related to heroin.”
Between October 2021 and June 2022 alone, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill the entire American population five times over, the coalition said in the February 12 letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).
Copycat fentanyl, or fentanyl analogues, are lab-created drugs made to avoid certain harsher penalties under U.S. law. These fentanyl analogues often are more harmful than prescription fentanyl.
The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently schedule all current and future fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs, giving law enforcement the appropriate tools needed to crack down on the epidemic by stopping the flow of the dangerous drugs developed to imitate fentanyl (although not chemically identical).
Congress temporarily classified fentanyl and fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs, but that status is set to expire March 31. The HALT Fentanyl Act will permanently fix the problem.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the HALT Fentanyl Act with an overwhelming bipartisan majority. The coalition is now calling on the Senate to do the same.
Murrill and McCuskey joined the Iowa- and Virginia-led letter with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
“Fentanyl and copycat fentanyl are killing more South Carolinians than any other drug, and we need to do everything we can to stop it,” South Carolina AG Alan Wilson said.
Pennsylvania AG Doug Sunday agreed.
“The deadliest, most dangerous drugs should be scheduled as such,” he said. “Synthetic opioid manufacturers and traffickers have exploited loopholes in scheduling classifications which contributed to widespread distribution of variations of fentanyl.
“Those variations have the same disastrous effects as fentanyl, and this office remains committed to doing everything in our power to deter trafficking in Pennsylvania communities. Each and every life lost leaves a family and community devastated, so it is imperative we act with urgency to combat this scourge.”
South Dakota AG Marty Jackley also agreed.
“I am urging the U.S. Senate to permanently close the loophole involving copycat fentanyl,” he said. “Law enforcement and prosecutors need this additional tool to stop those who sell or use this copycat dangerous drug.”