Enacted
HALT Fentanyl Act
This bill permanently places the entire chemical family of fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I, the federal government's most restrictive drug category. People convicted of illegally making, selling, or importing these fentanyl variations face strict federal criminal penalties, including mandatory minimum prison sentences. The bill also eases registration and inspection rules for scientific researchers, allowing qualified medical and academic institutions to obtain, test, and manufacture small research amounts of Schedule I substances with less administrative delay.
People affected—not determinable from the text provided
Fiscal magnitude—CBO cost estimate published (S. 331, HALT Fentanyl Act, 2025-03-10); dollar figure pending review extraction — see receipt
Reach68provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Sentencing & corrections−50Drugs & enforcement−55
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Scientific and medical researchersGains access to an expedited 30- to 45-day registration process for federally funded or FDA-authorized research, single registrations covering multiple local sites, exemptions from new facility inspections, permission to manufacture small research quantities without a separate manufacturer license, and the ability to continue ongoing research when a substance is newly added to Schedule I (Sec. 3).
- Research institution employees and agentsAuthorized to handle and perform research on Schedule I substances under the supervision and registration of a qualified colleague at their institution without being required to obtain individual DEA registrations (Sec. 3(b)).
Who it burdens
- Illicit manufacturers, distributors, and traffickers of fentanyl-related substancesFaces permanent Schedule I classification, strict regulatory restrictions, and federal criminal penalties including mandatory minimum prison sentences for unauthorized manufacturing, distribution, importation, or exportation of fentanyl-related substances (Sec. 2, Sec. 6).
- Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement AdministrationRequired to establish electronic notification systems, process expedited research applications within 30 to 45 days, publish substance-specific evaluation criteria on the DEA website, and issue implementing regulations within six months (Sec. 3(a), Sec. 3(g), Sec. 5).
- Department of Justice Office of the Inspector GeneralRequired to conduct a study and submit a report to Congress within one year regarding fentanyl research conducted under the expedited procedures (Sec. 3(a)(2)(n)(7)).
- Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans AffairsRequired upon request from the Attorney General to verify grant, contract, or investigational research details submitted by applicants seeking expedited Schedule I research registrations (Sec. 3(a)(2)(n)(3)(A)(ii)).