HALT Fentanyl Act

What this does

The bill permanently places the entire class of fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It adds a new Schedule I entry covering any material containing a fentanyl-related substance, and defines that term by five categories of chemical modification to the fentanyl molecule, so that new analogues are controlled by class rather than one at a time. The existing mandatory trafficking penalties in the Controlled Substances Act and the import and export statute are extended to fentanyl-related substances. Alongside the scheduling, the bill sets up faster registration for researchers who want to study Schedule I substances: a notice-based process to begin research, no separate registration for additional researchers at the same institution, a single registration covering related research sites in the same city or county, no new inspection required when adding a substance in the same or a higher-numbered schedule, continuation of research when a substance is newly scheduled, and limited small-scale manufacturing tied to the research, though not the growing of marijuana. The Attorney General must issue implementing rules within six months and may do so as interim final rules. The bill also states that its penalty changes apply as of enactment and expresses agreement with the interpretation in United States v. McCray.