Newhouse bill supports fight against fentanyl
Fentanyl pills, such as those confiscated by Grant County Sheriff’s Office investigators during a January drug bust shown here, have led to increasing numbers of opioid-related overdose deaths in Grant County and across the country. Experts and public officials are working to address the growing problem of opioids at the local, state and federal levels.
FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation co-authored by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Yakima, extending the emergency scheduling of fentanyl and analogous substances has been included in the $1.7 trillion omnibus government funding bill being considered by Congress this week.
“Fentanyl is wreaking havoc on our communities in Central Washington,” Newhouse said in a press release announcing the inclusion. “I am pleased this legislation was included in the final omnibus, meaning certainty and safety for our communities is just around the corner.”
Newhouse said the measure, co-authored with Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., will keep fentanyl and any future substance derived from or chemically analogous to fentanyl on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s list for Schedule 1 drugs. Such drugs are considered dangerous, susceptible to misuse and have no accepted medical uses, according to the DEA website.
The extension is necessary to ensure that federal, state and local law enforcement agents can continue to enforce the nation’s drug laws and keep dangerous drugs off the street, Newhouse said.
“My legislation to extend the temporary scheduling of fentanyl analogues will ensure that law enforcement can continue working to keep these deadly substances out of our communities,” said Pappas in the press release.