On Jan. 16, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) applauded Senate passage of the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act, legislation they authored to extend the Drug Enforcement Agency’s temporary order making fentanyl-related substances Schedule I, a designation reserved for substances that have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

“In 2018, there were 32,000 fentanyl-related deaths, up 14% from an already-staggering 28,000 deaths in 2017,” Feinstein said. “This is a crisis, plain and simple. DEA’s temporary order making fentanyl-related substances a Schedule I substance has shown success, with the supply of new fentanyl analogues down by 75%. This bill isn’t a permanent solution, but I’m confident it will give us time to find a commonsense, bipartisan pathway to develop meaningful solutions to the overdose crisis.”

Graham called fentanyl “one of the most dangerous drugs in the world.”

“This legislation … will prevent fentanyl analogues from being removed from the Schedule I dangerous drug list for 15 months. I hope in the coming days we can reach an agreement that will allow fentanyl analogues to be listed as a Schedule I drug permanently,” Graham said. “I also appreciate China’s recent efforts to deal with the fentanyl supply coming from China, as fentanyl has been proven to be one of the dangerous drugs known to man. There were over 30,000 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2018 alone.”

For information, visit feinstein.senate.gov.