Justice Department Urges House to Extend Fentanyl Ban Set to Expire in February

A package of seized fentanyl in the evidence room of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department in Florence, Ariz., on Nov. 12, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

The Justice Department (DOJ) has called on the U.S. House of Representatives to extend the illegal status of fentanyl and related substances, which is set to become legal next week without a vote to extend the ban in the lower chamber.

“Sadly, in 2017, more than 1,000 Americans died every two weeks from fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement on Monday. “If the House fails to act by midnight on February 6, traffickers of deadly opioids will again have the upper hand.  This cannot be allowed to happen. The House of Representatives needs to act to help save Americans from more overdoses and deaths.”