In the News

Baton Rouge / louisianaradionetwork.com

Feb 15, 2022

District 4 Louisiana U.S. Congressman Mike Johnson proposes federal law to permanently make illicit Fentanyl a Schedule I controlled substance. Talking with LRN, Johnson says Congress currently has to go back and reauthorize the drug’s temporary Schedule I status; which is counter-productive. He says law enforcement agencies need more certainty when they prosecute drug offenses.

Federal law states that substances on the Schedule I list have “no medicinal value whatsoever.” Johnson’s “CEASE Overdose” act would make that designation for illicit (or non-prescribed) Fentanyl permanent. He says law enforcement needs all the help they can get combating the very dangerous drug.

“It is such a deadly substance that just a tiny amount – enough that would fit into the tip of a pencil – is considered a lethal dose.”

Johnson says there is no good reason why Congress must reauthorize Fentanyl’s illicit status over and over again. He says Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs flow freely across the wide-open southern border, and his bill is only a small part of what he calls a “full-court press” in fighting it. He expects no partisan pushback on his bill because everyone can agree that street-level Fentanyl is a killer.

Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. topped 120-thousand in 2021; an increase of 40% over the previous year. Johnson says Fentanyl accounts for the majority of those.