On Wednesday, July 16th, President Trump signed legislation aimed at combating illegal fentanyl trafficking and increasing penalties for drug traffickers. The legislation, named the “Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act,” was signed by Trump at the White House, with members of Congress and family members of those who died from fentanyl overdose in attendance.
Trump stated that by signing the bill into law, it marks a “historic step towards justice for every family affected by the scourge of fentanyl.” He emphasized, “We will rid the streets of drug dealers, pushers, and traffickers. We will not rest until we have put an end to the overdose epidemic.”
“While progress has been made, it is still terrible,” added Trump.
The new law permanently classifies all fentanyl analogs (versions of the drug commonly sold by traffickers) as Schedule 1 controlled substances by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which are considered the most dangerous drugs. These drugs have been temporarily classified as such since 2018, but this temporary classification was set to expire at the end of the month.
The new permanent classification grants law enforcement agencies greater authority to combat the spread of fentanyl and allows US authorities to impose harsher penalties on individuals holding or distributing such drugs.
The White House believes that this new legislation will prevent drug trafficking organizations from creating new synthetic fentanyl compounds to circumvent the Controlled Substances Act.
However, the new law does not affect the legitimate medical use of fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid, and there are about 70,000 cases of drug overdose-related deaths in the US per year linked to opioids. The raw materials for fentanyl are mainly produced by Chinese companies and are used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture legal painkillers. However, a portion of these raw materials are sold to the Sinaloa drug cartel’s branch in Jalisco, Mexico. Part of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China aim to combat the illegal influx of fentanyl into the US.
Trump has criticized China for not taking sufficient measures to stop fentanyl production, and Mexico and Canada for not doing enough to prevent the trafficking of this drug across their borders.