Misguided proposals

In an effort to show the House of Representatives is serious about taking on the opioid overdose problem, the House is considering dozens of bills dealing with the issue.

Among them is H.R. 2851, The Stop Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues (SITSA) Act, which would significantly expand the powers of the Department of Justice to unilaterally prohibit synthetic drugs chemically similar to currently banned drugs and determine penalties accordingly.

If passed, the bill would merely perpetuate the false, simplistic and misguided notion that the solution to the opioid overdose problem is more prohibition, more punishment and fewer liberties.

The bill has drawn widespread criticism from across the political spectrum.

Similarly, a coalition of organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP and Human Rights Watch have warned that the bill wrongly cedes too much power from Congress to unelected government bureaucrats.

“Simply put, Congress, our elected legislature charged with passing laws and creating the federal criminal code, should not delegate the power to enact new criminal punishments to a federal law enforcement agency,” the coalition writes.

The Drug Policy Alliance has condemned the bill as dangerous and has provided a link for members of the public concerned about the looming escalation of the drug war to make their voice heard.

The SITSA Act should be rejected. We should be investing in harm reduction and treatment, not doubling down on the disaster that has been the War on Drugs.