House Passes Bill to Increase Penalties for Fentanyl Trafficking, Sending Measure to President’s Desk

The bill passed with bi-partisan support, reclassifying fentanyl and establishing new fentanyl-related offenses.

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on May 22, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The House of Representatives voted in favor of a Senate bill to reclassify fentanyl as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act on June 12.

The legislation passed 321–104, with only one Republican voting against it.

“A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act,” the Senate said on its website.

Under the bill, new fentanyl-related offenses are established, with 100 grams or more triggering a mandatory prison sentence with a minimum of 10 years. The legislation also establishes a new registration process for research with controlled substances.

Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, ecstasy, and LSD.

Schedule I drugs “may not be prescribed, dispensed, or administered” by physicians, according to the National Institutes of Health, which means fentanyl will be pulled from medical use in the United States if President Donald Trump signs the bill.

Fentanyl was previously a Schedule II narcotic, defined as a “drug with high abuse potential,” with use potentially leading to “severe psychological or physical dependence.” These are considered dangerous drugs that can be prescribed by medical doctors.

Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for certain Schedule I research.

The House of Representatives passed its own version of the bill, with the same name, in February with a vote of 312-108.

The bill then moved to the Senate, which passed its version of the legislation, which also sought to categorize any fentanyl-related substances, including any compound that was structurally or molecularly related to it, as Schedule I substances.

That version was amended and sent back to the lower chamber on a passing vote of 84-16 on March 14. The House received it on March 18.

In 2023, almost 80 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That same year, nearly 70 percent of the more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States came from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

“The HALT Fentanyl Act is a meaningful step in the fight against the scourge of fentanyl,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) wrote on X on June 12. “This is important legislation, and I’m glad that it will soon be on its way to [President Trump’s] desk.”

Jacob Burg and Samantha Flom contributed to this report.