New legislation is cracking down on illegal fentanyl.
President Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law on Wednesday. It closes a loophole for copycat fentanyl, a lab-created drug made to get around U.S. law.
“We take a historic step towards justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge as we sign the HALT Fentanyl Act into law,” President Trump said Wednesday.
Trump has permanently categorized all fentanyl-related substances, including copycat versions of the drug, under Schedule I in the Controlled Substances Act. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley was one of 25 attorneys general who pushed for the passage of the legislation.
“There’s that loophole that wouldn’t let law enforcement take the appropriate action on some of these substances or made it more challenging,” Jackley told KELOLAND News.
Now that the bill has passed, nonprofits like Emily’s Hope say this is another tool law enforcement can use.
“I hope that it will help lessen fentanyl deaths,” founder of Emily’s Hope, Angela Kennecke, said. “I think anything we can do legally to make all these different analogs of fentanyl illegal is a really good idea.”