STOP the HALT Fentanyl Act Now

For decades, politicians have doubled down on the same failed drug policies, and the proposed HALT Fentanyl Act is no different. Case in point the proposed HALT Fentanyl Act (HALT) that could become national law if we don’t tell our senators not to support it. HALT would permanently criminalize all fentanyl-related substances, even those that haven't been studied, gives more power to law enforcement to police fentanyl possession and use, and imposes harsh mandatory minimums for those prosecuted.

These objectives might sound good, however there are decades of proof and practice that clearly demonstrates that enforcement-only drug policies DO NOT WORK. For example, over the past two administrations, prosecution of fentanyl analogs offenses increased by more than 5,000%, and until there were evidence based public health interventions overdoses deaths skyrocketed. There is no correlation between increased prosecution and decreased use. In fact, in more cases than not, increased prosecution has actually made the issues worse, resulting in more overdose deaths, more incarceration, more families ripped apart and bigger financial burden by taxpayers.

The HALT Act stands in stark contrast to the solutions based drug policies that Dream.Org supports under the our Public Health is Public Safety Campaign that encourages legislators to pass bills that focus on:

Expanding access to treatment and harm reduction services
Supporting alternatives to incarceration for people struggling with addiction
Promoting public health policies that focus on recovery rather than punishment

HALT does none of that, it’s not even a bandaid to the real issues underlying our current fentanyl epidemic, it's a smokescreen to fool us into believing that our leaders are doing something to tackle the problem. Do not be tricked by these expedient drug “solutions” that risk worsening the crises rather than fixing it. Please, stand with Dream.Org and tell your senators NO. Sign the petition and tell them to reject the HALT Act.

Tell your Senator to vote NO!

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Comment

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Dear Senator,

I urge you to vote NO on the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act (S. 331).

This bill permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and imposes harsh mandatory minimums for fentanyl analogues.

Passage of this bill will make overdose deaths more likely. When dealers are arrested, people addicted to drugs search out riskier supply from less trustworthy sources. In addition, declines in overdose deaths were the result of public health interventions and not new penalties. Also, suppressing one category of narcotic results in a shift to even more deadly synthetic drugs.

We also know that enforcement-only policies fail. We have more than three decades of evidence showing that these policies don’t reduce drug use and disproportionately harm communities of color. Additionally, despite a more than 5,000 percent increase in the prosecution of fentanyl-analog offenses and temporary scheduling of analogs in both the Trump and Biden administrations, overdoses increased and there was no corresponding decrease in the use of analogs. Third, incarceration does not reduce overdoses or drug crimes. And fourth, mandatory minimums do not work to reduce crime.

Our country has a history of passing drug policies that focus solely on punishment without tackling the root causes of the drug epidemic itself. We have seen the devastating consequences of the War on Drugs, a war that failed to do little but imprison millions, inflate budgets and separate families. I ask you to reject HALT as a solution to the current fentanyl epidemic and urge you to work with stakeholders and impacted members of your communities to find solutions that promote public health rather than punish.

Thank you