Rep. Stansbury Strengthens Efforts to Prevent Addiction and Overdose Deaths

Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01) reintroduced the Stop the Opioid Pill Presser and Fentanyl Act (STOPP Fentanyl Act), which will disrupt global criminal networks and suppliers of illicit drugs like fentanyl. 

Watch the bill introduction here.  

Original co-sponsors include Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), and Rep. Brittany Pettersen (CO-07). 

A copy of the bill text can be found here. 

"The devastating impact of the fentanyl crisis is deeply personal for me. Sadly, like millions of Americans, this epidemic has touched my life with the death of a close friend," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). "Drug traffickers and suppliers adapt quickly, and so should we. Our focus must remain on criminals who pour fentanyl into our streets through tablets and counterfeit pills. Regulating pill presses stops this process at the start - another step in protecting Americans." 

“It’s critical to crack down on the dangerous devices that allow drug dealers to produce counterfeit pills laced with synthetic opioids like fentanyl,” said Rep. Brittany Pettersen (CO-07). “The opioid epidemic has ravaged far too many families in Colorado and across the country – including my own – and we need to do everything possible to stop these deadly drugs from coming into our communities. Addressing the opioid epidemic has been my top priority in Congress, and this legislation is an important step toward preventing overdoses and saving lives.” 

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has identified the need to deny illicit synthetic drug producers' access to pill presses, die molds, encapsulating machines, and other counterfeit pill manufacturing materials. 

Tablets and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl have become more common, and people who consume them may not know that they include fentanyl or other dangerous substances.  

Congresswoman Stansbury’s legislation targets the production of these fake pills by requiring those who manufacture or distribute pill tableting or encapsulating machines and their critical parts to “serialize” their machinery, keep records of all relevant transactions, and report those transactions to the Attorney General by creating a national registry to track the movement of these pill tableting or encapsulating machines and their critical parts in the stream of commerce.  

Those who violate the serialization, record-keeping, reporting, or registry requirements will be subject to penalties. 

The National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Directors Association (NHDA) has endorsed this legislation.  

Facts about fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl:   

• The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023.   
• Those seizures are equivalent to more than 390 million lethal doses of fentanyl.  
• Laboratory testing indicates 7 out of every 10 pills seized by DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.  
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found fentanyl seizures more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2023.   
• Almost half the fentanyl seized in 2023 were in fake pill form.  

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