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Biden extended a policy concerning “class-wide scheduling of fentanyl analogs.” The measure could land more low-level drug dealers in prison for longer and with less proof than is typically required.

An analogue is a chemical cousin to fentanyl; similar in molecular structure, but not exactly the same. Because fentanyl is made in labs, there are almost infinite ways to tinker with its molecules, creating new drugs and staying one step ahead of the feds. As one becomes illegal, cartel chemists invent another. Class-wide scheduling makes broad swaths of analogues preemptively illegal, including substances which haven’t been invented yet, even those that may turn out to be medically useful. Researchers have been studying fentanyl analogues for possible new treatments for addiction and opioids, including promising avenues for fentanyl vaccines, but the new law stymies that research.

Opponents of drug criminalization say it will only lead to more low-level dealers going to prison for excessively long periods and will fall disproportionately on the black community, as evidenced by data on lopsided fentanyl analogue prosecutions so far. And in a haunting echo of the crack/cocaine disparity of the 1980s, fentanyl analogues are punished more harshly than fentanyl itself, without the science to back it.

We would like to thank The Marshall Project for the content. Click HERE to view the original comprehensive article.