Proposal aims to permanently make fentanyl a Schedule 1 narcotic

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lawmakers are considering a proposal to permanently make fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, which are similar in chemical structure, Schedule 1 narcotics.

Health experts said fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, is a co-sponsor of the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act, or SOFA, Act in the U.S. Senate.

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"It's much more dangerous than just an opioid pill," Alexander said.

The proposal calls for harsher penalties connected to fentanyl.

"It's stricter in terms of the law enforcement, and the penalties are more severe for anyone who's caught doing it," Alexander said.

The National Association of Attorneys General said it supports the SOFA Act, which it said closes a loophole that kept the controlled substance scheduling system one step behind fentanyl manufacturers.

But groups including The Sentencing Project met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Friday to urge them to instead focus on providing more resources, such as addiction treatment.

"Locking people up is not dissuading them from using drugs," ​​​​​Kara Gotsch, Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Sentencing Project, said. "It's not dissuading them from selling them. What we need to do is stop people's move to use drugs."

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The group and several lawmakers are also concerned that the proposal would mean the Drug Enforcement Agency and not health officials would determine what counts as a fentanyl analogue.

During the summer, senators on the Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, saying they were concerned about testimony that there are an "infinite number of compounds" that could be considered fentanyl analogues.

"We're really concerned about this move to take the researchers and the scientists out of the equation when learning about drugs," Gotsch said.

Cox Media Group