Fight for Drug Policy Based in Fact, Not Fear: Support the TEST Act

Studying fentanyl-related substances could be the key to addressing the ongoing overdose crisis. It would allow lifesaving medical research into these substances that may have potential to reverse overdoses and address the harsh criminal penalties that have unfairly impacted Black and brown people due to targeted policing.

Unfortunately, a Trump-era policy has stood in the way which created severe criminal penalties for all fentanyl-related substances based on fear instead of health or evidence.

Politicians are trying to make this policy permanent. Congress must decide the fate by the end of the year and now we need your help to fight back.

The TEST Act is the first step toward putting science and facts first. It would require testing of fentanyl-related substances and allow research of potentially lifesaving medications to curb the overdose crisis. Tell your Senators to support this new bill to find new solutions that will save lives!

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Dear Senator,

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Please cosponsor the Temporary Emergency Scheduling and Testing of Fentanyl Analogues Act of 2022 (TEST Act) which was just introduced in the Senate.  The TEST Act requires that the federal government test and publicly report data related to currently-identified fentanyl-related substances (FRS).

In 2018, President Trump classified all FRS as Schedule I controlled substances. These substances were automatically placed on Schedule 1 based on chemical structure alone and, to this day, the vast majority have not been tested for actual potential bodily harm. The Biden administration is asking Congress to make this class-wide scheduling permanent, despite concerns including that it impedes research into treatments for opioid use disorder.

Congress must decide by Dec. 31, 2022 if they will 1) temporarily extend the classwide scheduling policy, 2) allow it to expire, or 3) make it permanent. We believe Congress should instead pass the TEST Act, which includes a 2-year extension of the policy, in order to give the government time to fully test substances before making a decision on the classwide scheduling policy.

This bill was inspired by a Congressional request to the heads of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in which Members of Congress expressed concern that a classwide scheduling approach will set the precedent that “helpful, harmful, and harmless substances can be preemptively treated as equally harmful and disregard[s] basic principles of evidence and pharmacology.” Their letter warns that Congress may inadvertently criminalize therapeutic medications similar to naloxone and other life-saving medications at a time when the U.S. is facing record numbers of overdose deaths.

In addition to blocking research, the current FRS policy runs the risk of sending people to prison for inert or therapeutic substances. This is why the TEST Act would require the DOJ to notify individuals if a substance has been rescheduled or descheduled after testing. This is significant and can help address wrongful convictions.

Please cosponsor the TEST Act to take the first step to reversing the dangerous and ineffective FRS scheduling policy. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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