Congress must permanently classify fentanyl related substances to curb the crisis

One-third of American adults know someone who has died from an opioid overdose. In fact, opioid overdose is the leading cause of death for adults aged 18-45. And, without a doubt, fentanyl is the primary driver behind the drug epidemic that’s gripping the nation. 

Fentanyl’s extreme lethality makes it a powerful agent of death. Just two milligrams, or the equivalent of a few grains of salt, can be enough to kill.

While fentanyl is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for legitimate medical use, making it a Schedule II controlled substance, cartels and traffickers use copycat recipes with slight chemical tweaks to concoct potent, illicit drugs. These fentanyl knockoffs, known as fentanyl-related substances, are intentionally designed to exploit loopholes in U.S. law and

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