Bill > ACR168

Introduced Session

This resolution respectfully urges the United States Congress to enact U.S. Senate Bill 331, the "HALT Fentanyl Act." According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there were approximately 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2023, nearly 70 percent of which were attributed to opioids such as illegal fentanyl. The CDC found a recent trend of decreasing deaths from drug overdoses, with a 14.5 percent decrease between June 2023 and June 2024. In New Jersey, drug overdose deaths decreased 35 percent from the peak of 3,148 deaths between January 2021 and January 2022, to 2,031 deaths between September 2023 and September 2024. However, despite this decline, drug overdoses remain the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 44. There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain. Illegally made fentanyl is responsible for most cases of fentanyl-related overdose. Illegally made fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets, is often added to other illegal drugs during manufacture because it is cheaper, more powerful, and more addictive than other illegal drugs, and thus more dangerous. Laboratory testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration in the fall of 2024 revealed that five out of 10 illegal pills contained a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl. One gram of illegally made fentanyl, the size of a sugar packet, has the potential to kill up to 500 people. The federal "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act" or "HALT Fentanyl Act" places illegal fentanyl and related substances into Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. Under federal law, substances in Schedule I are those with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical value, and are subject to regulatory controls and federal criminal penalties, including mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment. In New Jersey, illicit fentanyls are already classified as Schedule I substances pursuant to N.J.A.C.13:45H-10.1. Similar to the criteria in federal law, substances in Schedule I pursuant to New Jersey law are those with high potential for abuse, and either with no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, or without accepted safety for use in treatment under medical supervision. In the view of the sponsor, federal classification of fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I will enhance nationwide efforts to combat illicit manufacturing and trafficking of these potentially deadly drugs.

Committee Categories

Dawn Fantasia (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee (on 06/12/2025)

Official Document