WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after President Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act, which will help keep this deadly drug off of Texas’ streets by permanently classifying fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I, into law:

“This legislation is essential to stopping the flow of illicit fentanyl that has infiltrated our nation and taken hundreds of thousands of innocent lives,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I have heard heartbreaking stories from families across Texas who have lost loved ones to this deadly drug, and I commend President Trump for swiftly signing this bill into law to combat the fentanyl crisis and make our communities safe.”

Background:

Fentanyl is a controlled substance, tightly regulated under the Controlled Substances Act. Illicit drug manufacturers and traffickers sidestep the law by producing fentanyl-related substances – drugs that are substantially similar to fentanyl, but chemically tweaked ever so slightly – to push potent drugs into the U.S. on a technicality. Fentanyl-related overdoses account for nearly 70% of drug overdose deaths nationwide, and fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for 18-45 year olds.

To keep pace with rapidly evolving drugs and combat the epidemic of opioid-related deaths, in 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the leadership of President Trump, temporarily restricted all fentanyl-related substances. Since then, Congress has repeatedly extended President Trump’s temporary scheduling order. The HALT Fentanyl Act permanently extends the 2018 Schedule I classification for fentanyl-related substances, which expired on March 31, 2025.

The HALT Fentanyl Act passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sen. Cornyn serves on, by a bipartisan vote of 16-5 earlier this year, and it passed the Senate in March and the House in June.

The HALT Fentanyl Act, now law, will:

• Amend the Controlled Substances Act to permanently classify illicit fentanyl knockoffs, known as fentanyl-related substances, as Schedule I drugs, for which there is no accepted medical use;
• Protect patients’ access to legitimate, FDA-approved fentanyl for medical purposes directed by a physician;
• Support law enforcement and codify existing criminal penalties to ensure illicit manufacturers and traffickers can be fully prosecuted and victims and their families receive justice;
• And advance scientific and medical research by streamlining registration processes and allowing more scientists to study fentanyl-related substances.

This law is supported by more than 40 major advocacy groups, as well as a coalition of more than 200 groups made up of families personally impacted by fentanyl.