Stop Fentanyl Now Act of 2023

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4272 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4272

   To provide public awareness and outreach regarding the dangers of 
   fentanyl, to expand the grants authorized under the Comprehensive 
 Opioid Abuse Grant Program, to expand treatment and recovery services 
   for people with opioid addictions, and to increase and to provide 
  enhanced penalties for certain offenses involving counterfeit pills.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 22, 2023

Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Evans, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. 
 Ivey, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Ross, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. 
 Cohen, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Doggett, 
   Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Neguse, Mr. 
   Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. 
  Kamlager-Dove, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Carter of 
Louisiana, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Robert 
Garcia of California, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Garcia 
 of Illinois, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Payne, Mr. Carson, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Lee 
of California, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
 Mr. Sherman, and Ms. Brown) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
    the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide public awareness and outreach regarding the dangers of 
   fentanyl, to expand the grants authorized under the Comprehensive 
 Opioid Abuse Grant Program, to expand treatment and recovery services 
   for people with opioid addictions, and to increase and to provide 
  enhanced penalties for certain offenses involving counterfeit pills.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Fentanyl Now Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is in the midst of the worst opioid 
        epidemic in history.
            (2) Illicit fentanyl is typically mixed into heroin or 
        pressed into counterfeit pills made to look like controlled 
        prescription drugs such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and Xanax.
            (3) From September 29 through December 15, 2021, the DEA 
        seized more than 1,500 pounds of substances containing fentanyl 
        and 8.4 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills. The 
        seizures were directly linked to at least 39 overdose deaths 
        and included at least 76 cases that involved buying and selling 
        drugs on social media apps. Over the course of that year, the 
        DEA seized over 15,000 pounds of substances containing fentanyl 
        and 20.4 million fake pills, with roughly four out of every 10 
        pills containing lethal doses of fentanyl.
            (4) The widespread availability of illicit fentanyl, the 
        proliferation of counterfeit pills resembling prescription 
        drugs but containing illicit fentanyl or other illicit drugs, 
        and the ease of purchasing pills through social media have 
        increased fatal overdose risk among adolescents.
            (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control, overdose 
        deaths reached a historic high of more than 90,000 drug 
        overdose deaths in 2020, a 31 percent increase compared with 
        the previous year and in 2021, there were more than 106,000 
        reported drug overdose deaths in the U.S., with deaths 
        involving synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) numbering 
        70,601.
            (6) Between 2019 and 2021, more than 2,200 adolescents 
        overdosed, 96 percent of whom were between the ages of 15 and 
        19. Fentanyl was involved in 84 percent of the deaths. While 
        counterfeit pill evidence was present in 25 percent of 
        adolescent overdose deaths, this is likely an underestimate 
        because pills present at the scenes of the overdose deaths were 
        not always tested.
            (7) Many overdose deaths are preventable with public health 
        interventions such as education, harm reduction, and treatment 
        access.
            (8) Public education campaigns can teach teenagers, 
        parents, and others on the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit 
        pills and educating individuals on mitigating practices can be 
        beneficial, including emphasis on not initiating drug use, not 
        using drugs while alone, using fentanyl test strips, and having 
        overdose reversal drugs readily available.
            (9) Opioid antagonists, such as naloxone, can be used 
        during emergencies to reverse opioid overdoses and are 
        effective at preventing fatal drug overdoses.
            (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        reported that despite an increase in prescriptions for 
        emergency opioid antagonists, not enough of the medication is 
        getting into the hands of those who need it most.
            (11) Expanding access to emergency opioid antagonists and 
        encouraging people to obtain emergency opioid antagonists are 
        in the best interest of the health and safety of the public.
            (12) Increasing access to medications like methadone and 
        buprenorphine that effectively treat opioid use disorder can 
        save lives.
            (13) Greater access to drug detection tools such as 
        fentanyl strips are a low-cost method of helping prevent drug 
        overdoses and reducing harm.

SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID ABUSE GRANT PROGRAM.

    Section 3021 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701(a)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(11) Developing, implementing, or expanding a program 
        that provides training and resources for teachers and other 
        school officials in public or private middle schools, high 
        schools, institutions of higher education (as such term is 
        defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965), or 
        area career and technical education schools (as such term is 
        defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
        Technical Education Act of 2006) on--
                    ``(A) carrying and administering an opioid overdose 
                reversal drug or device approved or cleared by the Food 
                and Drug Administration; or
                    ``(B) acquiring such a drug or device for teachers 
                and other school officials who have received such 
                training to so carry and administer such a drug or 
                device.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Preferential Consideration.--In awarding grants under this 
part, the Attorney General may give preferential consideration to an 
application from an applicant in a State that--
            ``(1) has in effect a law that exempts from criminal and 
        civil liability teachers and other school officials who carry 
        or administer in good faith an opioid overdose reversal drug or 
        device approved or cleared by the Food and Drug Administration 
        if trained to carry or administer such drug or device; or
            ``(2) has in effect a law that exempts from criminal or 
        civil liability the possession, sale, or purchase of fentanyl 
        drug testing equipment, including fentanyl test strips.''.

SEC. 4. PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF FENTANYL-LACED SUBSTANCE USE.

    (a) Prevention.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the Attorney General, shall develop and implement a 
national strategy to prevent the use of fentanyl, fentanyl-related 
substances, and fentanyl-laced substances. The strategy shall include 
the following elements:
            (1) Education and outreach to the public about the dangers 
        of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl-laced 
        substances.
            (2) Development of treatment programs for individuals who 
        are addicted to fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.
    (b) Treatment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
provide grants to States and localities to support the development and 
implementation of treatment programs for individuals who are addicted 
to fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.

    (a) Increased Resources.--The Attorney General shall increase the 
resources available to law enforcement agencies to combat the 
trafficking of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl-
laced substances. The Attorney General shall prioritize the following 
activities:
            (1) Investigation and prosecution of individuals who 
        traffic fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl-
        laced substances.
            (2) Disruption of the supply chain for fentanyl, fentanyl-
        related substances, and fentanyl-laced substances.
            (3) Prevention of the importation of fentanyl, fentanyl-
        related substances, and fentanyl-laced substances into the 
        United States.
    (b) Interagency Coordination.--The Attorney General shall establish 
an interagency task force to coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement agencies to combat the trafficking of 
fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl-laced substances.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall conduct research 
on the following topics:
            (1) The effects of fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, 
        and fentanyl-laced substances on human health.
            (2) The development of new treatments for individuals who 
        are addicted to fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.
            (3) The best practices for preventing the use of fentanyl, 
        fentanyl-related substances, and fentanyl-laced substances.

SEC. 7. INCREASE IN PUNISHMENT.

    Section 303(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 333(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), any person who 
        violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or (g) of section 301 with 
        respect to any drug, if such violation results in--
                    ``(i) serious bodily injury, shall be imprisoned 
                not more than 10 years, fined not more than $1,000,000, 
                or both; or
                    ``(ii) death, shall be imprisoned for any term of 
                years or for life, fined not more than $5,000,000, or 
                both.
            ``(B) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), any person who 
        violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or (g) of section 301 with 
        respect to any drug with the intent to defraud or mislead, if 
        such violation results in--
                    ``(i) serious bodily injury, shall be imprisoned 
                not more than 20 years, fined not more than $5,000,000, 
                or both; or
                    ``(ii) death, shall be imprisoned for any term of 
                years or for life, fined not more than $10,000,000, or 
                both.
            ``(C) Any person who violates subsection (a), (b), (c), or 
        (g) of section 301 with respect to any drug promoted or sold 
        online shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such 
        violation, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more 
        than 5 years.''.

SEC. 8. EXCLUSION OF FENTANYL DRUG TESTING EQUIPMENT FROM TREATMENT AS 
              ``DRUG PARAPHERNALIA''.

    Section 422(f) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 863(f)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) the possession, sale, or purchase of fentanyl drug 
        testing equipment, including fentanyl test strips.''.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that fentanyl deaths should be 
addressed by--
            (1) increasing funding for prevention and treatment 
        programs, including--
                    (A) programs that provide education and treatment 
                for people who are at risk of opioid addiction or 
                overdose; and
                    (B) school-based programs, community outreach 
                programs, and treatment centers;
            (2) expanding access to naloxone (a medication that can 
        reverse the effects of an opioid overdose) such as by making 
        naloxone available over-the-counter or by providing subsidies 
        for its purchase;
            (3) cracking down on the trafficking of fentanyl, 
        including--
                    (A) increased efforts both domestically and 
                internationally;
                    (B) increased funding for law enforcement agencies;
                    (C) increased penalties for fentanyl trafficking; 
                and
                    (D) working with other countries to stop the flow 
                of fentanyl across borders;
            (4) improving data collection and analysis, including the 
        improvement of Federal data collection and analysis on fentanyl 
        deaths, to better understand the scope of the problem and 
        identify effective prevention and treatment strategies; and
            (5) supporting research on new treatment options, 
        including--
                    (A) support for research on new treatment options 
                for opioid addiction and overdose; and
                    (B) funding for research on new medications, new 
                delivery methods, and new approaches to treatment.
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