President Trump recently signed a bill into law that law enforcement have described as an important tool in their fight against those trafficking synthetic Fentanyl.
For the last two years, the Emergency Scheduling Act had classified synthetic Fentanyl and any analogs as schedule I controlled substances, but that act was set to expire on Thursday.
William Callahan, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s St. Louis division, recently met with local law enforcement and county officials to discuss the importance the act and Fentanyl/opioid-related deaths. He urged the officials and public to contact their representatives and ask them for their support of the act.
Prior to its expiration, the U.S. House of Representatives did pass the measure, sending it to the president for his signature. The U.S. Senate earlier had passed the bill.
The president signed the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act Thursday.
For the next 15 months, through May 6, 2021, the temporary scheduling order reportedly classifies certain fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug subject to the strictest controls.
“The DEA is appreciative of the support from our state and local law enforcement partners, as well as our U.S. representatives who put the interest of public safety first and pushed to extend this ban,” said Callahan.
The extension of the Fentanyl Emergency Scheduling Act, Callahan said, will allow law enforcement to “attack the flow of synthetic Fentanyl into the Southeastern Missouri (area) and potentially save the lives of people who suffer from substance use disorder.”
Butler County Coroner Andy Moore said he thought it was wonderful “that this got an extension.
“Anytime you can assist a prosecutor prosecuting these opioid/heroin crimes, to me, there’s no negative to that,” Moore said.
This time, according to Moore, Congress “finally got it done.”
“I certainly want to thank Congressman (Jason) Smith, Sen. (Roy) Blunt and Sen. (Josh) Hawley for their efforts to reauthorize the Fentanyl legislation that will save lives and hopefully help us, in law enforcement, to make our communities safer,” said Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley, who also expressed his gratitude to the president for “signing this life-saving legislation.”
Like Whiteley, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kacey Proctor also is appreciative of the “hard work of our congressmen and senators, as well as President Trump for signing this critical legislation and giving our federal law enforcement officers the tools that they need to help eradicate this dangerous drug.”