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 The proposed bill, introduced by Democrat Chris Pappas and
Republicans Dan Newhouse and Ted Budd, comes days before a temporary
ban on chemical copycats of fentanyl known as analogues expires on
Friday.
For years, the Justice Department's Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) has been trying to crack down on the proliferation of chemical
look-alikes of fentanyl, which are often manufactured in China and
shipped into the United States from Mexico.
Fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than morphine, is
classified as a Schedule II drug, meaning it is highly addictive but
has a medicinal purpose, typically to treat intense cancer pain.
But chemists largely based in China have created numerous slightly
altered versions of the drug, which along with actual fentanyl have
flooded U.S. streets and contributed to nearly 500,000 U.S. opioid
overdose deaths over two decades.
To combat these illicit versions, the DEA previously clamped down by
individually placing each illicit new fentanyl analogue into
Schedule 1, the same legal category for drugs like heroin which are
deemed to have no medical use.
In 2018, the DEA came up with a new approach, using its emergency
powers to schedule all copycat illicit versions of fentanyl broadly
into Schedule 1 as a single class, effectively banning them.
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 That authority has remained in place, thanks to
repeated temporary extensions from Congress,
which has yet to act on a long-term solution
over concerns that a permanent ban could stifle
scientific research into fentanyl analogues.
"This bill looks to close an important loophole," Pappas said in a
phone interview. "We've got to make sure that we're staying ahead of
the cartels."
Pappas added that his proposed bill contains provisions that he
hopes will address researchers' concerns by making it "less onerous
and more streamlined" for scientists.
The new legislation introduced on Monday is not expected to pass
before the DEA's latest temporary emergency scheduling of fentanyl
analogues expires.
However, Pappas told Reuters that lawmakers are looking into another
temporary extension as part of a broader spending bill until a
permanent solution is reached.
(Reporting by Sarah N. LynchEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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