Latest news with #HaltFentanylAct
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Yahoo
Washington man accused of having enough fentanyl to kill 278,000 people after getting clemency from Dem gov
A Washington man arrested on nearly a dozen drug and weapons charges on Thursday had been granted clemency by former Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019. The arrest of Percy Levy, 54, was first reported in the Lynwood Times, a Snohomish County newspaper. The Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force made the arrest after a 16-month investigation. The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said the suspect was apprehended during a traffic stop in Everett. A warrant was later served on the suspect's home, where authorities said detectives recovered 2,818 grams of powder cocaine, 14.7 grams of rock cocaine and 556 grams of fentanyl. That is enough fentanyl to kill approximately 278,000, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which says just 2 milligrams of the substance could be deadly. Detectives also found packaging material, a digital scale and a handgun inside the home. Senate Passes Halt Fentanyl Act To Permanently Classify All Fentanyl-related Drugs As Schedule I Substances Read On The Fox News App The suspect was arrested for unlawful possession of firearm, possession of stolen firearm and multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Levy was charged with 11 Class B Felony charges, according to online inmate records of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Corrections Bureau. He is being held on a $1.5 million bond. Inslee granted Levy clemency in 2019, according to a document from the state Clemency and Pardons Board. Levy has a criminal history dating back to when he was 13 years old, according to the Lynwood Times. He spent 17 years in prison after a 2002 arrest for a drug house robbery. Rhode Island Democrat Lawmaker Arrested For Dui Ordered To Install Car Breathalyzer Inslee's decision regarding Levy in 2019 came after the 2021 of State v. Blake ruling that reclassified possession of controlled substances as a misdemeanor, the paper reported. In the six years following his clemency, Levy dedicated himself to criminal justice reform, according to the newspaper. He worked as a community outreach specialist for the Washington Defender Association and founded Redemption Auto, a car dealership in Everett. Levy is also treasurer on the Board of the Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County chapter. Click To Get The Fox News App The sheriff's office said the matter remains under article source: Washington man accused of having enough fentanyl to kill 278,000 people after getting clemency from Dem gov
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Republicans pass fentanyl bill with Democratic support
Lawmakers rallied around the HALT Fentanyl Act on Thursday, successfully passing legislation in the House to classify the opioid as a Schedule I controlled substance in an effort to solidify harsher punishments for using or selling the drug. Republicans asserted their majority to usher in the new bill with a 312-108 vote, earning significant support from Democrats. Ninety-eight Democrats voted in favor of the new measure signaling an increase from the House ballots tallied after previous consideration of a similar act in the 118th Congress. Under the proposed classification, offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term. 'The Halt Fentanyl Act builds on President Trump's efforts … to secure our border, southern and northern borders, and keep illicit drugs out,' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday during a press conference. 'Republicans are taking decisive, strong, and immediate action to rid American communities of this poison.' However, some Democrats have taken issue with the bill, citing concerns with excessive prison sentences that could disproportionately impact minority communities. Some members of Congress, including Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), have argued that the HALT Fentanyl Act doesn't provide additional resources to health officials and law enforcement to detect or intercept illicit drugs at legal ports of entry. 'The majority … believe the best way out of this crisis is through incarceration, which simply is not a viable or effective strategy,' DeGette said during a Rules Committee meeting Tuesday night. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
07-02-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
House Republicans pass fentanyl bill with Democratic support
Lawmakers rallied around the HALT Fentanyl Act on Thursday, successfully passing legislation in the House to classify the opioid as a Schedule I controlled substance in an effort to solidify harsher punishments for using or selling the drug. Republicans asserted their majority to usher in the new bill with a 312-108 vote, earning significant support from Democrats. Ninety-eight Democrats voted in favor of the new measure signaling an increase from the House ballots tallied after previous consideration of a similar act in the 118th Congress. Under the proposed classification, offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term. 'The Halt Fentanyl Act builds on President Trump's efforts … to secure our border, southern and northern borders, and keep illicit drugs out,' Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday during a press conference. 'Republicans are taking decisive, strong, and immediate action to rid American communities of this poison.' However, some Democrats have taken issue with the bill, citing concerns with excessive prison sentences that could disproportionately impact minority communities. Some members of Congress, including Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), have argued that the HALT Fentanyl Act doesn't provide additional resources to health officials and law enforcement to detect or intercept illicit drugs at legal ports of entry. 'The majority … believe the best way out of this crisis is through incarceration, which simply is not a viable or effective strategy,' DeGette said during a Rules Committee meeting Tuesday night.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
House passes HALT Fentanyl Act, Kansas lawmakers react
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act on Thursday by a vote of 312-108. H.R. 27 would classify fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I drug. A Schedule I drug, as defined by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, is a drug with no accepted medical use and a high risk for addiction. Fentanyl is currently listed as a Schedule II drug by the DEA, meaning it has accepted medical use but has a high potential for abuse. In 2018, the DEA issued a temporary scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances, which Congress extended several times. It is set to expire on March 31. If it expires without congressional action, fentanyl-related substances could become street-legal and strip law enforcement of their ability to seize these drugs. The Halt Fentanyl Act would increase the penalties for the possession and sale of fentanyl and provide law enforcement with more resources and tools to combat and deter fentanyl trafficking. Pharmacists rally at Kansas Statehouse for medication pricing transparency In 2023, more than 107,000 people died of a drug overdose, and nearly 75,000 of those deaths were from synthetic opioids, which are primarily comprised of illicit fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances. 'Nearly 150 Americans die each day due to fentanyl overdoses,' said Rep. Tracey Mann. 'This is not normal, and it is a national security crisis. The country gave Washington, D.C. a mandate to seriously address the drug trafficking happening at our southern border. Today, House Republicans voted to deliver on that mandate by increasing penalties for possessing and selling fentanyl, giving law enforcement the correct tools to combat this deadly drug trade, and holding criminals accountable for the deadly toll they've inflicted on our nation. The cartels and fentanyl traffickers need to know that American lives are not up for grabs.' 'As Kansas' top law enforcement official for more than a decade, I saw firsthand the devastation that fentanyl wreaks on our communities,' Rep. Derek Schmidt said. 'Today's passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act is a strong step toward crippling drug peddlers' ability to mass manufacture and distribute these deadly substances. This legislation will be a meaningful step in our fight against the opioid crisis and I encourage my Senate colleagues to swiftly pass it.' H.R. 27 will now go to the U.S. Senate for further consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Heinrich co-sponsors Halt Fentanyl Act
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) Senator Martin Heinrich is pushing a bipartisan bill aimed at making it easier to stop fentanyl trafficking. The New Mexico Democrat, alongside Republicans Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), has introduced the Halt Fentanyl Act, which would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule One drug. Bill advances that would increase penalties for school shooting threats in New Mexico That classification is used for drugs that have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse like heroin, LCD, and ecstasy. The bill would also set maximum and minimum criminal penalties. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
