Classification of fentanyl as a Schedule I drug is the biggest measure to help address the synthetic opioid crisis in the US, a Drug Enforcement Administration official said Wednesday.
Nine fentanyl-related substances are temporarily under Schedule I control of the Controlled Substances Act. The DEA categorizes drugs into five schedules and Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse.
Scheduling fentanyl would give the DEA authority to infiltrate and prevent the trafficking of the substance, ensuring it doesn’t cross borders and fall into the hands of violent street gangs, Matthew Strait, deputy assistant administrator, the Office of Diversion Control for the DEA, said at a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing June 21.
“It gives law enforcement, not only ourselves but our law enforcement counterparts of the border that are interdicting mail packages and mail parcels, the authority to seize,” Strait said. He added it would give them the ability “to work backward and arrest individuals for trafficking those substances.”
The DEA’s top priority is defeating Mexican drug cartels responsible for driving drug poisoning in the US, he said.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of drug-related overdoses, with nearly 110,000 lives lost last year, Strait said. He said about 25% of the DEA’s powder samples of fentanyl contain xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer that causes respiratory arrest and necrotic lesions.
The overdose landscape has transitioned from prescription drugs to heroin, synthetic opioids, and other substances, which poses a significant threat that is expected to persist.
Five administration officials testified at the hearing, meant to bring awareness to continuing issues with the opioid crisis. The committee highlighted several pending bills it said could help address the crisis.
The HALT Fentanyl Act would make the temporary classwide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent. It was introduced by Reps.
bill.
Access to Buprenorphine
Also at the hearing, Strait said the DEA would continue its full support to improve and expand access to important treatment drugs like buprenorphine, a medication to treat opioid use disorder.
The DEA announced two proposed rules for permanent telemedicine flexibility in March and has collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services to temporarily extend Covid-19 flexibility, extending access via telehealth for patients to receive medications such as buprenorphine for an additional six months, until Nov. 11 while the rules are finalized.
“Telemedicine is medicine, telemedicine is here to stay. We also want to acknowledge the fact that this rule impacts the delivery of health care for every American. We want to make sure we get it right,” Strait said.
The telemedicine companies and health-care providers warn that reintroducing in-person visit requirements would burden providers and would alienate mental health patients.
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