Central ND News

WASHINGTON – On May 25, 2023, Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act. The bill passed on a 289-133 vote.

“Every time I meet with North Dakota’s law enforcement officers, their top three concerns are fentanyl, fentanyl, and fentanyl. The HALT Fentanyl Act takes a simple step to make sure fentanyl related substances and analogs are illegal. These drugs are just as deadly and are taking over an increasing share of the market. Someone shouldn’t be able to change one molecule of fentanyl, sell the drug to a college kid in Grand Forks, and avoid the law. This is common sense and necessary to make our communities safer,” said Congressman Armstrong.

The legislation places fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances (FRS), also known as fentanyl analogs, permanently into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It will simplify registration processes for specific research with Schedule I substances and provides for the limited exemption of individual FRS from Schedule I when evidence demonstrates it is appropriate for medical use.

It will prevent drug traffickers from skirting federal law by changing as little as one molecule in the fentanyl formula to create legal variations. Without the legislation, many fentanyl-related substances could become street-legal, and law enforcement could lose the authority they need to seize these extremely lethal drugs.

Original source can be found here.