U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to reintroduce the Stop Importation and Manufacturing of Synthetic Analogues (SIMSA) Act. The legislation is led by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.).
Specifically, the SIMSA Act targets deadly drugs that are substantially similar to already-controlled substances, but carefully engineered—often in China or Mexico—to slip into the U.S. undetected.
“Preliminary data from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources shows that fentanyl and fentanyl analogues were involved in approximately 82% of all drug overdose deaths in West Virginia in 2023,” Senator Capito said. “These deadly substances are flowing into our communities from China and across our southern border, and criminals know that they can get around existing law by slightly changing the chemical makeup of a drug while still having the same negative effect on the human body. This legislation will allow for law enforcement to crack down on synthetic drugs and save lives.”
BACKGROUND:
U.S. law prohibits the unauthorized use of certain controlled substances. However, illicit drug makers and importers circumvent those laws by altering single atoms in controlled substances to create tweaked drugs that are not yet outlawed, but have similar effects on users. Currently, uncontrolled substances must undergo a time-consuming analysis before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can permanently schedule them.