Attorney General Marty Jackley joined 22 other attorneys general in signing a letter to request Senate leaders to pass a bill that would categorize fentanyl-related substances as schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.
Schedule I controlled substances are drugs, substances or chemicals with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical value and subject to criminal penalties.
The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, or HALT Fentanyl Act, already passed in the House.
This Republican-sponsored bill would allow for criminal prosecution for possessing, distributing or manufacturing the drug.
“So far this year, there have been 81 arrests made for fentanyl in South Dakota and that number continues to climb,” Jackley said in a press release. “We need to take a stronger stand against fentanyl analogues being brought into this country, and this legislation does that.”
The Biden-Harris administration also called on Congress to pass the HALT Act.
