Marion-Morrow Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Troy Balderson announced the passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act in the House of Representatives on May 25, which provides law enforcement with the necessary certainty and stability to go after drug traffickers and keep illicit fentanyl out of our communities.

"The HALT Fentanyl Act will save lives and help put traffickers of this lethal drug where they belong: behind bars," said Congressman Balderson, an original cosponsor of the legislation. "My heart breaks for the families and victims taken too soon by the grip of addiction. Closing these loopholes will prevent many more Ohioans from suffering that same fate."

Illicit fentanyl is now involved in more than 80 percent of drug-overdose deaths in Ohio, according to Ohio Department of Health data. In 2022, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency seized over 410 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which is enough to kill every American citizen.

H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act, would make the temporary class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent. It ensures law enforcement has the tools needed to keep this lethal drug, in its many forms, off our streets. The legislation also protects researchers so we can better understand the substance's overall effects on people's health.

If the temporary emergency class-wide scheduling is allowed to expire, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will lose the authority to seize substances crossing the border, the primary pathway from which illicit fentanyl enters the United States after it is made in Mexico with chemicals from China.

H.R. 467 now proceeds to the Senate for further consideration. 

Original source can be found here.