On Wednesday, 220 House Democrats blocked a bill that would have put fentanyl-related substances, including precursors, in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Doing so would have enabled the government to crack down on those driving the opioid crisis and profiting off the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. The bill expires on September 31.
Fentanyl is the leading killer of adults ages 18-45. Last year, opioids killed an estimated 80,816 Americans. 10% of the significant drop in U.S. life expectancy, now at its lowest point in over two decades, is attributable to such overdoses.
China is reportedly the principal source of the fentanyl flooding America’s illicit drug market. Mexican cartels, partnered with the Chinese and using Chinese-sourced materials, manufacture and then traffic much of the killer drug over the U.S. border. Read more…
