Department of Forensic Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department, Miami, FL, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2021 Jul;66(4):1186-1200. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14712. Epub 2021 May 5.
Fentanyl is now the primary driver of the current opioid crisis. Fentanyl and its analogues are subject to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the Controlled Substances Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986 (Federal Analogue Act), state laws, international treaties, and the laws of foreign countries. The appearance of novel psychoactive substances led to further legislative developments in scheduling. New fentanyl analogues proliferated in a manner previously unseen since about 2016. Overdose deaths of these fentanyl analogues prompted the Drug Enforcement Administration to reactively emergency schedule each new fentanyl analogue as it appeared. The international community also acted. Finally, on February 6, 2018, a proactive temporary (emergency) class-wide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances was implemented based upon the fentanyl core structure to save lives. This action spurred a similar action in China. Fentanyl analogues fell dramatically in the marketplace, despite further increases in fentanyl itself. Congress temporarily extended this scheduling, but it will soon expire. Opposition to permanent class-wide was lodged due to concerns over law enforcement overreach, inadequate Health and Human Services input, and hindrance of research. This paper reaffirms the importance of a class-based scheduling strategy while also arguing for increased research of schedule I controlled substances.
芬太尼现在是当前阿片类药物危机的主要驱动因素。芬太尼及其类似物受 1970 年《管制物质法》、1986 年《管制物质类似物执法法》（联邦类似物法）、州法律、国际条约以及外国法律的管制。新型精神活性物质的出现导致了在管制方面的进一步立法发展。自 2016 年左右以来，新型芬太尼类似物以前所未有的方式激增。这些芬太尼类似物的过量死亡促使美国缉毒署对每个新出现的芬太尼类似物作出反应，将其列为紧急管制物质。国际社会也采取了行动。最后，2018 年 2 月 6 日，根据芬太尼的核心结构，实施了一项针对芬太尼相关物质的主动临时（紧急）全面管制，以挽救生命。这一行动在中国也引发了类似的行动。尽管芬太尼本身有所增加，但芬太尼类似物在市场上的数量却大幅下降。国会暂时延长了这一管制，但很快就会到期。由于担心执法过度、卫生与公众服务部投入不足以及研究受阻，人们对全面管制提出了反对意见。本文重申了基于类别的管制策略的重要性，同时也主张增加对 I 类管制物质的研究。
