Trump Signs Bill Strengthening Penalties for Fentanyl Trafficking |
| President Donald Trump signed a bill to designate fentanyl as a Schedule 1 narcotic, the strictest designation established by the Controlled Substances Act.
Schedule 1 drugs are deemed to have no acceptable medical value and are subject to the nation’s most punitive criminal penalties. The bill also mandates 10-year minimum prison sentences for those convicted of distributing 100 grams or more of any fentanyl-related or derived drugs. “It’s a big deal,” Trump said. “We’ll be getting the drug dealers, pushers, and peddlers off our streets, and we will not rest until we have ended the drug overdose epidemic … we’re going to end it once and for all.” A deadly dose is equal to approximately two-one-hundredths of a gram or smaller, depending on the user’s tolerance, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Trump has targeted fentanyl distribution with several policy decisions since taking office for a second term, including designating cartel syndicates as foreign terrorist organizations and imposing tariffs against China, Canada, and Mexico for facilitating production or failing to prevent the precursor chemicals from reaching the United States. The new law will help close loopholes that have allowed cartels and other criminal syndicates to create closely related substances, including carfentanil, which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the DEA. (More) Source: The EPOCH TIMES |