The FED UP! Coalition also asks that you contact your Congressional representatives to repeal the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act since, as we wrote in a letter to the appropriate Congressional Chairmen, “the law constrains the D.E.A.’s ability to enforce the Controlled Substances Act and allows perpetrators of illegal opioid distribution to act with impunity.”

The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act dramatically increased the standard of proof required for the D.E.A. to suspend a D.E.A. registration. The law was passed because it was falsely promoted as a way to ensure patient access to narcotics and improve cooperation between the D.E.A. and industry. In reality, the law constrains the D.E.A.’s ability to enforce the Controlled Substances Act and allows perpetrators of illegal opioid distribution to act with impunity.

On Sunday, Oct 15, 2017, the Washington Post and 60 Minutes jointly brought national attention to this legislation and its impact to the D.E.A.’s ability to protect public health. The news coverage provided multiple examples of opioid distributors willfully neglecting their responsibility to report suspicious prescription opioid orders.

It is time for Congress to act. Until this law is repealed, the D.E.A.’s ability to enforce the Controlled Substances Act will be hampered. Repealing this law will save lives and help bring the nation’s most urgent public health crisis under control. Please contact your Congressman and Senators and urge them to Repeal this bill.

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!

IMPLORE HIM OR HER TO SUPPORT THE SOFA ACT (H.R. 2935).  THE SOFA ACT AMENDS THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT TO ADD ILLICIT FENTANYL ANALOGS TO SCHEDULE I.

THIS LEGISLATION IS A MUST IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FENTANYL ANALOG OVERDOSE DEATHS.

POINT OUT THAT CHINESE CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS SWITCHED FROM MAKING FENTANYL TO MAKING MULTIPLE FENTANYL ANALOGS BECAUSE INTRODUCING MULTIPLE FENTANYL ANALOGS MADE IT EASIER TO GET AROUND THE U.S. LAWS.

POINT OUT THAT WHEN THE DEA ENACTED REGULATIONS PLACING FENTANYL ANALOGS IN CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES SCHEDULE I, THE RATE OF INTRODUCTION OF NEW FENTANYL ANALOGS INTO THE UNITED STATES DROPPED DRAMATICALLY.

POINT OUT THAT THE US HAS BEEN ABLE TO PERSUADE CHINA TO MOVE FENTANYL ANALOGS INTO THEIR EQUIVALENT OF SCHEDULE I, AND WE MUST DO THE SAME IN THE U.S.!

POINT OUT THAT ALL 50 STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL AS WELL AS THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF WASHINGTON, D.C. AND PUERTO RICO UNANIMOUSLY SENT A LETTER TO CONGRESS REQUESTING PASSAGE OF THE SOFA ACT.

POINT OUT THAT THE TEMPORARY PLACEMENT OF FENTANYL ANALOGS IN SCHEDULE I WILL EXPIRE FEBRUARY 6^TH UNLESS THE SOFA ACT IS PASSED BEFORE THEN.

Background:

The SOFA Act amends the Controlled Substances Act to add illicit fentanyl analogs to Schedule I.

Schedule I controlled substances have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical value.  They are subject to strict regulatory controls and penalties under the Controlled Substances Act.

              Fentanyl analogs are a group of drugs that share the fentanyl backbone and act at the same receptors as fentanyl. They have minor surface tweaks which make them legally distinct compounds. Federal officials attempting to fight the opioid epidemic were faced with having to go through a lengthy process to get each legally distinct analog moved into Schedule I, and during the lengthy process, new fentanyl analogs were being introduced. 

In February 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration invoked emergency powers to temporarily move all illicit fentanyl analogs into Schedule I.  The result of this action was that the pipeline of new fentanyl analogs shut down.

But this ban expires February 6^th, and we may expect a rapid resumption of widespread distribution of fentanyl analogs shortly after the expiration. 

The SOFA Act was designed to amend the Controlled Substances Act to permanently add illicit fentanyl analogs to Schedule I.

At this point, the only major resistance to the SOFA Act is coming from civil liberties groups.  They argue that drug use and addiction are primarily public-health matters that need treatment rather than criminal sanctions.  They argue that passage of the SOFA Act would grant the DEA the power to impose harsh mandatory minimum sentences for possession of an analog.

We obviously agree that drug abuse and addiction need treatment, not harsh criminal penalties. But the SOFA Act is aimed at those who are distributing death throughout our country, not at the individual suffering from a substance use disorder.  And it is simply wrong-headed to prevent law enforcement from using the SOFA act to pursue those who are selling deadly fentanyl analogs to men and women suffering from opioid use disorder.

In 2017, 40% of opioid overdose deaths in Florida were due to fentanyl analogs.  We need to do whatever can be done to stop fentanyl analog death.

We need the SOFA Act.

STOPPING OVERDOSES of FENTANYL ANALOGUES (SOFA) ACT

This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to add certain fentanyl analogues to schedule I. A schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that: has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Please, contact your senator and congressperson, and implore them to support the SOFA Act, and why they must pass the legislation ASAP!!