ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Fentanyl production continues to be a hot topic and recently, lawmakers introduced a bill designed to help counter that.
Tuesday, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran announced he joined Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) in introducing the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, which would help stop the production of counterfeit and fentanyl-laced pills and make it easier for federal law enforcement to take action against cartels by requiring pill presses, punches and dyes to be engraved with serial numbers.
“In 2024, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 61.1 million fentanyl-laced pills. With these illicit drugs on the rise, many cartels have gained access to the same type of pill presses used by pharmaceutical companies in order to create counterfeit pills that are often indistinguishable from real medication,” a release from Moran’s office noted. “The Controlled Substances Act currently requires companies to keep records on the distribution of pill press equipment, which helps the DEA track and seize pill presses used to manufacture fentanyl-laced pills. But while illicit pill presses have been seized in 43 states, many reports suggest these seizures only account for a small number of those being used by cartels.”
This legislation would assist the DEA and other federal law enforcement agencies in solving crimes against drug trafficking and trace pill presses back to cartels by amending the Controlled Substances Act to require that all encapsulating machines, tableting machines, punches and dyes be engraved with a serial number, require all serial numbers be filed with the DEA on the forms that already have to be submitted for pill press machines; and impose criminal penalties for the removal or alteration of the serial number and for the transportation or possession of any pill press with a removed or altered serial number.
Moran and other lawmakers praised the legislation.
“Fentanyl has taken the lives of thousands of Americans and continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States,” Moran noted in the release. “By imposing penalties for removing or altering serial numbers on pill presses, law enforcement will be able to more effectively target those responsible for the production of counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills and help prevent drug traffickers from flooding our country with these deadly substances.”
“Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans age 18 to 45, which underscores just how prevalent this silent killer is in our communities,” Cornyn noted in the release. “Our bill would require the serialization of pill presses, punches, and dies to help law enforcement better detect, trace, and prosecute the cartels who produce these deadly pills and perpetuate the fentanyl crisis across our country.”
“Communities across North Carolina and the country continue to suffer from the devastating impact of fentanyl, and we must do everything we can to disrupt the cartels and traffickers flooding our streets with these deadly drugs,” Tillis noted in the release. “The Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act will give law enforcement an important tool to track down and hold criminals accountable, and I am proud to support this effort to help save lives.”
“Fentanyl has devastated families across Minnesota and this crisis is being fueled by those who use pill presses to make counterfeit drugs. We need to do more to fight traffickers and protect communities,” Klobuchar noted in the release. “This bipartisan legislation will require pill presses and their critical parts to have a serial number, which will help law enforcement, fight counterfeit pill production, reduce overdoses, and ultimately save lives.”
