Manatee Review

On February 6, 2025, Congressman Vern Buchanan expressed approval for the U.S. House's passage of legislation aimed at combating the fentanyl crisis. The bill seeks to provide law enforcement with necessary tools to prevent the spread of these lethal drugs. This legislation closely aligns with Buchanan’s Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act (H.R. 920), which aims to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.

Buchanan highlighted the severity of the issue, stating, “The number of overdose deaths across our country every year due to illegal fentanyl-related substances is tragic and deeply alarming.” He emphasized that these substances are affecting communities nationwide, including his own in Southwest Florida.

The FIGHT Fentanyl Act is cosponsored by Representative Chris Pappas from New Hampshire. Since 2018, fentanyl-related substances have been temporarily classified as Schedule I by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This classification allows federal authorities to prosecute those involved in their production and distribution. However, this temporary status is set to expire on March 31, 2025.

Classifying a drug as Schedule I grants law enforcement broader powers, including harsher penalties and enhanced jurisdiction over its trafficking. It also allows for stronger enforcement measures such as wiretaps and asset seizures.

The House has passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act (H.R. 27), which shares similar goals with Buchanan’s proposal by permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. Buchanan is an original cosponsor of this act, which also imposes mandatory minimum sentences on illegal distributors.

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug akin to heroin but significantly more potent—50 times more so. Often manufactured abroad in countries like China, it is trafficked into the United States through southern borders. Customs and Border Patrol have reported a more than 400 percent increase in fentanyl seizures since fiscal year 2019.

Florida leads the nation in fentanyl seizures, participating in over 2,000 operations in 2023 according to data from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2023; nearly 75,000 were linked to fentanyl and related substances.

Buchanan has consistently advocated for addressing America’s fentanyl crisis since introducing the FIGHT Fentanyl Act in 2021 amidst rising overdose rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, he secured funding for grants aimed at preventing prescription drug and opioid overdoses and saw his Fentanyl Sanctions Act become law in 2019 as part of defense spending legislation targeting Chinese manufacturers supplying synthetic opioids.