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If HALT Act Doesn’t Stem Fentanyl’s Flow, Try Something New

It was fitting that Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-23, visited Jamestown last week to speak about the HALT (Halt All Lethal Trafficking of) Fentanyl Act.

In 2017, fentanyl didn’t show up on the Jamestown Police Department’s list of most-seized drugs for either 2015 or 2016 in the department’s annual report. Fast forward to this year’s report. Fentanyl rose to second on the list of most-seized drugs, trailing only methamphetamine, at 1,090.50 grams. Over the preceding six years, fentanyl seizures in Jamestown grew from 161 grams to 308 grams, 857 grams, 5,552 grams, 9,384 grams and then decreased to the 2024 seizure of 1,090 grams. In 2022 and 2023 fentanyl was the most seized illegal narcotic in Jamestown, outpacing even methamphetamine and cocaine.

That makes Jamestown a key battleground against fentanyl in Chautauqua County. Langworthy cited federal statistics showing that fentanyl currently causes about 70,000 U.S. deaths a year. It’s also now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. It has been named as a culprit in the increase in overdose deaths across the county in recent years that has since decreased with greater availability of naloxone.

The HALT (Halt All Lethal Trafficking of) Fentanyl Act permanently classify fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule I drugs, under the Controlled Substances Act, which supporters say makes penalties for criminals clear and enforceable under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and, as a result, reduce the supply and availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyl-related substancesFRS. The HALT Fentanyl Act places controls and penalties on fentanyl-related substances that have no accepted medical use and a high abuse potential and imposes higher mandatory minimum and discretionary penalties under federal law for those convicted of trafficking fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances. Mandatory minimum penalties will increase to five years in prison for 10 grams or more and 10 years for second offense and and 10 years for 100 grams or more, with 20 years for second offense. Judges can also impose 40 years for 10 grams or more (life for second offense); and life for 100 grams or more.

We don’t know if the HALT (Halt All Lethal Trafficking of) Fentanyl Act will actually curtail fentanyl trafficking or not. What we do know is there is no reason for politics to enter into the equation at all. Just two years ago, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, touted an agreement President Joe Biden had reached with President Xi Jinping to crack down on fentanyl exports. Chinese police at the time had taken action against Chinese synthetic drug and chemical precursor suppliers, with some China-based pharmaceutical companies ceased operations and some international payment accounts blocked. China and the U.S. were also to launch a counter narcotics working group to bolster law enforcement and information sharing to cut off the flow or precursor drugs and illicit fentanyl that are now targeted by the HALT Act.

Negotiations didn’t work as well as Biden and Schumer had hoped. Republicans are trying a different approach. But if that approach fails too, then there should be no problem for both Republicans and Democrats to find a third approach.

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