Political Quotes

“we are in the midst of the worst opioid epidemic in a generation, and one tragic aspect of this is the widespread use of fentanyl, a deadly opioid that has killed thousands of people in America. In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration took the unprecedented step of placing all fentanyl-related substances, also known as fentanyl analogs, on schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. That makes it easier to prosecute any individual who sells or even simply possesses fentanyl analogs, and it subjects those individuals to stiff mandatory minimum penalties regardless of individual circumstances. Typically, a drug is only added to schedule I after the Department of Health and Human Services conducts a scientific study to determine if it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The DEA has had the temporary authority to bypass this process for 2 years. The authority was scheduled to expire on February 6 of last year, 2020. The DEA warned us of the dire consequences if it expired. In response, I worked with Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Feinstein and authored legislation extending the authority for 15 months, until May 6, 2021. So what did the Trump administration do for the 12 months that it was in office with this issue still looming? Nothing and neither did Congress. Now the Biden administration has asked Congress for an additional extension of the DEA's temporary authority in order to evaluate this issue.…”