Senate Extends Power to List Fentanyl Among Most Dangerous Drugs

Senators moved to extend the Justice Department’s authority to place fentanyl-like substances on the list of most-strictly controlled drugs into 2021.

The Senate passed legislation (S. 3201) by unanimous consent Thursday that would extend for 15 months the Drug Enforcement Administration’s expiring order that has allowed the government to classify all new fentanyl-like substances as the most dangerous and stringently regulated Schedule I drugs. The order is set to expire in February.

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are on display before a press conference regarding a drug bust at the office of the New York Attorney General in New York City.

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Senate leaders pushed earlier this month for legislation (S. 3148) to give the DEA these powers permanently, but ran into concerns from senators over how it might ...