Political Quotes

“Mr. President, recognizing that there has been an objection, I would like to point out a couple of things, though. As regards permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances would do nothing to limit overdoses: Congress has extended fentanyl scheduling on a temporary basis multiple times, and this has led to fewer overdoses and led to the creation of fewer new fentanyl-related substances. Next, the idea that designating them all as schedule I would limit the ability of researchers to study fentanyl is just not true. There is no indication that the temporary scheduling of fentanyl analogs has stifled research. The DEA, the Drug Enforcement Agency, has approved every research study since 2018. But this bill goes further by putting a robust process in place to study fentanyl. It does not disrupt ongoing things, but it actually creates an expedited process for certain FDA studies to be done in partnership with Federal Agencies. Lastly, that somehow this would contribute to overincarceration: The bill does not permanently bar DEA or HHS from continuing to look at the risks associated with it. If something has no risk, they can establish it has no risk. Therefore, it would not lead to overincarceration.…”