Materials

Fentanyl Analogues: Perspectives on Classwide Scheduling

This statement was provided by Kevin L. Butler, Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Alabama, on January 28, 2020 to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Hearing on Fentanyl Analogues: Perspectives on Classwide Scheduling.

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: New Report Warns Against Harsh Penalties for Illicit Fentanyl

The Drug Policy Alliance released this report on January 22, 2020. The report highlights the dangers of policymaking based on renewed drug war hysteria in response to fentanyl and warns that ramping up sentences for fentanyl may only compound the harms of illicit fentanyl use and undermine recent federal progress on sentencing reform.

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Potential unintended consequences of class-wide drug scheduling based on chemical structure: A cautionary tale for fentanyl-related compounds

This paper in the February 2021 issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence describes the likely unintended consequences of classwide scheduling of fentanyl-related compounds in effect until May 6, 2021. Consequences include the hindering of pharmacological research and the development of novel medical interventions for treating opioid use disorders.

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Opinion: William Barr’s new war on drugs

This opinion piece by Nancy Gertner in The Washington Post addresses former Attorney General William Barr’s support for an expansion of mandatory minimum sentences for federal drug crimes involving fentanyl analogues.

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Symposium Recording Playlist