Overview

• The HALT Fentanyl Act enacts mandatory minimum sentences of five years for trafficking 10 grams of fentanyl and ten years for 100 grams.
• Overdose victim families including Anne Funder, Gregory Swan and Jacqueline Siegel attended the White House ceremony to highlight the human toll of the epidemic.
• Sponsors Mike Johnson, John Thune, Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy and Martin Heinrich led the bipartisan effort that passed both chambers of Congress.
• The administration asserts the law closes loopholes exploited by cartels to create new synthetic analogs and strengthens enforcement tools.
• Critics caution that a focus on punitive measures risks neglecting public health strategies needed to address addiction.