Kaul joins nation’s AGs in support of FIGHT Fentanyl Act

Wisconsin is joining a national effort calling for Congress to permanently classify fentanyl and related substances as Schedule I drugs.

Attorney General Josh Kaul and 55 other attorneys general wrote a letter to Congress on Wednesday asking lawmakers to pass the Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act. The bipartisan bill would define fentanyl-related substances as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a two-year temporary scheduling order for fentanyl in 2018. The FIGHT Fentanyl Act keeps the schedule I classification in place following the temporary order’s expiration in 2020. In the letter, the attorneys general write the legislation is essential in the ongoing fight against national opioid epidemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report fentanyl and other synthetic opioids had a part in more than 28,000 deaths in 2017.