STOP Nitazenes Act

The Strengthening Tools to Outlaw Poisonous (STOP) Nitazenes Act, or H.R. 7970, aims to address the rising threat of synthetic opioids by permanently adding nitazenes to the federal list of Schedule I controlled substances. Nitazenes are a class of highly potent synthetic drugs that can be significantly stronger than fentanyl. By placing them in Schedule I—the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act—the bill would effectively ban their manufacture, distribution, and possession for non-research purposes.

If enacted, the bill would transition any nitazene compounds currently under temporary emergency scheduling into permanent status. It also proposes to grant the Attorney General the authority to quickly identify and add new variations or derivatives of these substances to the list as they emerge on the black market. This is intended to prevent manufacturers from bypassing the law by making slight chemical changes to the drugs.

For everyday citizens, the bill's primary impact would be to provide law enforcement and federal agencies with more permanent legal tools to prosecute the trafficking of these substances. Proponents of the bill suggest that these measures are necessary to stay ahead of the evolving opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths caused by drugs that are often mixed into other illicit substances without the user's knowledge.