MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined forces with 56 other attorneys general to call on Congress to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances among the most restricted drugs in the nation.
“Fentanyl is an incredibly potent narcotic that is linked with a huge percentage of senseless overdose deaths,” Morrisey said Thursday during an appearance on WAJR Radio’s “Talk of the Town.”. “These substances have no business being listed as anything but a Schedule 1 drug. This legislation is crucial to our hope to curb the opioid epidemic here in West Virginia.”
Morrisey said law enforcement needs the proper tools to combat the problems caused by the substance.
“Looking at all the data related to fentanyl, we saw it was really important to give law enforcement the additional tools,” he said. “The trafficking of this deadly substance is really off the charts.”
Fentanyl is recognized as one of the most deadly narcotics and according to the Centers for Disease Control is responsible for a substantial percentage of overdose deaths.
“Pain pills remain a big problem, yet the numbers of illicit pain pills has gone down tremendously, we’ve made big strides in that area,” Morrisey said. “But, some of those people went to meth and fentanyl and some of those other products.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration temporary order scheduling fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule 1 drug will expire in February of 2020. The Schedule I designation allows federal law enforcement to criminally charge people who manufacture, distribute or handle fentanyl-related substances.
Morrisey and the other attorneys general are asking the U.S. Senate to pass Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act. that would place fentanyl on the Schedule I list permanently.