FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
August 23, 2018
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL URGES CONGRESS TO CLOSE DEADLY
FENTANYL LOOPHOLE
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Steve Marshall, as part of a bipartisan group of 52 state
and territory attorneys general, called on Congress today to help end the opioid epidemic and
close a loophole that allows those who traffic deadly fentanyl to stay a step ahead of law
enforcement by developing new drug analogues that are somewhat different in composition.
“We know that illicit drug manufacturers are devious in changing the makeup of a drug just
enough that it no longer falls under its classification as a controlled substance. Alabama has
already strengthened its laws to deal with this problem, and we must ensure that our federal
laws do not permit deadly criminal activity by way of a loophole,” said Attorney General
Marshall.
The attorneys general sent a letter to Congress in support of S. 1553 and H.R. 4922, the Stopping
Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act. Fentanyl is currently a Schedule II controlled
substance and when used as prescribed by a doctor, can be a safe painkiller. However outside
of careful supervision, fentanyl and analogues manufactured illicitly can be lethal.
The SOFA Act, if passed by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, would eliminate
the current loophole which keeps the controlled substance scheduling system one step behind
those who manufacture fentanyl analogue and then introduce these powders into the opioid
supply chain. The SOFA Act utilizes catch-all language which will allow the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) to proactively schedule all newly-modified fentanyl analogues.
In addition to Alabama, the other attorneys general who signed the letter were Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia,
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
Link to AGs’ letter –30–
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
