What's happening
This bill adds fentanyl-related substances and their chemical variations to New York's Schedule I controlled substances list.
Why it matters
Addresses the rapid evolution of illicit fentanyl. By broadly defining fentanyl-related substances—including variations with minor chemical tweaks—the bill aims to prevent manufacturers and dealers from evading prosecution by making small molecular changes to the drug.
Closes legal loopholes used by traffickers. Current laws often only cover specifically named fentanyl compounds, meaning new analogs can be temporarily "legal" until scheduled; this bill preemptively schedules entire classes of chemical modifications.
Impacts law enforcement and public health response. With these substances classified as Schedule I, police and prosecutors can act more quickly against emerging fentanyl analogs, potentially reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into communities.
May have implications for scientific research. By placing a broad range of fentanyl-like substances in Schedule I (the strictest category), legitimate research on these substances may become more difficult, requiring special permissions and oversight.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors
The bill would add a structurally defined class of fentanyl-related substances to New York’s Schedule I controlled substances list.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug developers
The proposed definition would exclude substances with an exemption or approval in effect under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Researchers studying fentanyl-related compounds
Compounds meeting the bill’s structural criteria, including specified isomers, esters, ethers and salts, would be placed in Schedule I unless the federal exemption or approval exclusion applies.
Headline styles
Add Fentanyl to Banned Drugs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Add Fentanyl to Banned Drugs
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Taylor Darling
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6140
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 17, 2019
Introduced by Sen. THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to adding substances to the schedules of controlled substances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (b) of schedule I of section 3306 of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph 58 to read as follows:
(58) Fentanyl-related substances, their isomers, esters, ethers, salts and salts of isomers, esters and ethers. For the purposes of this paragraph, fentanyl-related substance means any substance for which no exemption or approval is in effect under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355), that is structurally related to fentanyl by one or more of the following modifications:
(A) Replacement of the phenyl portion of the phenethyl group by any monocycle, whether or not further substituted in or on the monocycle;
(B) Substitution in or on the phenethyl group with alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, hydroxyl, halo, haloalkyl, amino or nitro groups;
(C) Substitution in or on the piperidine ring with alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxyl, ester, ether, hydroxyl, halo, haloalkyl, amino or nitro groups;
(D) Replacement of the aniline ring with any aromatic monocycle whether or not further substituted in or on the aromatic monocyle; and/or
(E) Replacement of the N-propionyl group by another acyl group.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11376-02-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to adding substances to the schedules of controlled substances
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to add new substances to the controlled substance bill.
Summary of provisions
Subdivision (b) of schedule I of section 3306 of the public health law is amended by adding a new paragraph 58 to define "fentanyl-related substances" to mean any substance related to fentanyl by certain speci- fied chemical modifications.
Justification
For nearly a decade, New York State and the rest of the United States have been experiencing an unprecedented epidemic in the abuse of legal and illegal opioid drugs, resulting in the addiction of millions of people and the overdose deaths of hundreds and thousands. Fentanyl, a prescription opioid painkiller that is a controlled substance in the State of New York, is responsible for some of those overdose deaths. As are many substances known as fentanyl "analogues", drugs that have been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of fentanyl, but that are not controlled substances in the State of New York because they are not listed on the appropriate schedules that classify controlled substances in Public Health Law Section 336.
The ability of law enforcement officers in New York State to investigate and prosecute sellers of deadly opioid drugs is hampered by the gap in the law that results in some fentanyl analogues not being classified as controlled substances. The State legislature has not acted to add those analogues to the appropriate Public Health Law schedules.
If New York State classified controlled substances as any substances that meet the above federal definition of "fentanyl-related substance", the aforementioned gap in the law with regard to fentanyl analogues would largely be closed, and law enforcement would be able to investi- gate and prosecute sellers of currently-legal fentanyl analogues that are responsible for many of the overdose deaths.
Prior legislative history
New legislation.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.