Fentanyl Now Listed as Schedule I Controlled Substance

President Donald J. Trump officially signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law, permanently classifying fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

As President Trump said, the legislation is “delivering another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels.”

The bill, introduced in Congress earlier this year, permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. 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.

However, with fentanyl already a major target of law enforcement, and a majority of the drug smuggling coming from non-medical production of the drug and counterfeit pain pills containing fentanyl. Many believe the main defeat of rescheduling the drug is the medical and surgical communities with fentanyl being used for local anesthesia and to treat chronic severe pain or severe pain following surgery.

On June 10, 2025, the DEA provided their recommendation to reschedule fentanyl and its analogues citing the abuse of the drug by its users.

The term “abuse” is not defined in the CSA; however, the legislative history of the CSA suggests that DEA consider the following criteria when determining whether a particular drug or substance has a potential for abuse:

(a) There is evidence that individuals are taking the drug or drugs containing such a substance in amounts sufficient to create a hazard to their health or to the safety of other individuals or to the community; or

(b) There is significant diversion of the drug or drugs containing such a substance from legitimate drug channels; or

(c) Individuals are taking the drug or drugs containing such a substance on their own initiative rather than on the basis of medical advice from a practitioner licensed by law to administer such drugs in the course of his professional practice; or

(d) The drug or drugs containing such a substance are new drugs so related in their action to a drug or drugs already listed as having a potential for abuse to make it likely that the drug will have the same potentiality for abuse as such drugs, thus making it reasonable to assume that there may be significant diversions from legitimate channels, significant use contrary to or without medical advice, or that it has a substantial capability of creating hazards to the health of the user or to the safety of the community.

Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term).

The White House says a key national fentanyl overdose prevention grant program, currently underfunded by roughly $140 million, will eventually be fully paid for, but with a catch. 

The federal money allocated by Congress will now be given out “in increments” rather than a single annual payment. Initially it was thought that the $9 billion in funding to the CDC would be cut. The prevention program largely helps to supply narcan to hospitals, first responders and some schools.

Sources White House, US Congress, NPR, DEA, DEA