Senator Schmitt, Colleagues Introduce Slate of Bills to Combat Deadly Nitazenes
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and colleagues introduced a bipartisan slate of bills to address the alarming rise in nitazenes, a new class of synthetic opioids that are stronger and deadlier than fentanyl. The three bills will strengthen law enforcement’s ability to find and eliminate nitazenes, permanently designate them under Schedule I, and impose sweeping sanctions on Chinese entities that manufacture and traffic these deadly drugs with the intent to poison and kill American citizens.
One of the bills is Senator Schmitt’s DETECT Nitazenes Act, which updates the DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act to include nitazenes. This bill will give law enforcement the resources, research, capacity, and technology needed to interdict and eliminate nitazenes. Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined this bill.
“Nitazenes are powerful synthetic opioids that are stronger than fentanyl, cheaper to produce, and devastatingly lethal. Their high potency and increased prevalence in Missouri will cost lives and devastate communities. In some instances, nitazenes can be up to 40 times more potent than fentanyl and hundreds of times more potent than similar drugs like heroin. We must learn from the fentanyl crisis and act now before nitazenes spiral out of control. I’m proud to work with Senators McCormick, Ricketts, Gallego, and Slotkin to address this growing problem and keep communities in Missouri, and across America, safe,” said Senator Schmitt.
In tandem with Senator Schmitt’s bill, this legislative package includes the Nitazene Control Act to permanently schedule nitazenes under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and the Nitazene Sanction Act to allow the Trump Administration to sanction Chinese entities engaged in the manufacture and distribution of these deadly drugs.
Background:
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) added nitazenes to its 2025 National Drug Threat assessment.
- Senator Schmitt co-sponsored the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act, which was signed into law on July 16, 2025.
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