Congressional Committee Advances Illicit Fentanyl Scheduling – Legislation Does Not Impact Legal Medical-Use Fentanyl

A key Congressional committee has passed  H.R. 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, legislation that would permanently place fentanyl analogues or fentanyl-related substances (described as “any substance that is structurally related to fentanyl by 1 or more modifications”) as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

Currently, fentanyl analogues are temporarily classified as Schedule 1 substances until December 31, 2024 by a temporary scheduling order under the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act from 2018.

ASA has reviewed the legislation and determined that the HALT Fentanyl Act will not impact the use of legal medical-use fentanyl.