PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A legislative order that temporarily lists fentanyl analogues, or synthetic opioids, as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act is set to expire May 6 if Congress or the Biden administration doesn't take action.
What You Need To Know
- Fentanyl analogues' status as Schedule I substance could expire next month without action
- White House spokesperson said administration committed to avoiding expiration
- Related: COVID-19 contributed to Pasco overdose increase, Sheriff's Office says
"This is a bipartisan issue. It must be extended. If the administration's not going to do it, we need to do it legislatively," Rep. Gus Bilirakis (D-FL) said.
Hold-ups with the bill include the potential to create foreign policy issues with China, the source of most of these types of drugs, and mandatory minimum sentences that could anger reformists.
“I think we’re going to get the extension. We’re going to put pressure on the speaker of the House and the majority leader in the Senate to get this done," Bilirakis said.
A White House spokesperson has also said the administration is committed to avoiding expiration.
You can read the entire bill here:
Bill to extend Schedule I status of Fentanyl by Dale Greenstein on Scribd
Still, the fast-approaching deadline has caused some concern it could be allowed to lapse and exacerbate the nationwide opioid epidemic.
"It's a sad reality that we're dealing with. We're seeing a lot of fentanyl out there," Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said.
Pasco County is off to a rough start to 2021 when it comes to overdoses. According to information from the sheriff's office, there were 341 overdoses in the county from January-March. Of those, 49 were fatal. While numbers for those months were lower than totals seen during several months in 2020, there were more overdoses in the first quarter of 2021 than during that same time period in any other year.
Nocco said while an extension of the federal legislation would mean law enforcement get to keep an important tool in the fight against opioids, more attention needs to be given to addressing the mental health issues behind the epidemic.
“COVID only made it even worse. We were dealing with mental health and substance abuse issues before. COVID has basically put it on steroids," Nocco said. “As much emphasis as we’re putting into the physical aspects of COVID, we should be putting just as much, if not more so, into the mental health aspects.”
Bilirakis said the next step for the legislation is for it to be brought to the House floor for discussion.