White House Drug Policy Director Statement on PRC Fentanyl Precursor Scheduling Actions

Today's action represents the third major scheduling action since President Biden's negotiations to resume bilateral counternarcotics cooperation with the PRC

Today, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr. Rahul Gupta released the following statement on the People's Republic of China (PRC) announcement to schedule seven new substances - including three critical fentanyl precursor chemicals: norfentanyl, 4-ap, and 1-boc-4-ap. Today's action represents the third major scheduling action from the PRC since President Biden negotiated the resumption of counternarcotics cooperation with the PRC in November 2023. Today's announcement also follows the meeting of U.S.-PRC Bilateral Counternarcotics Working Group held in Washington, DC last week.

"President Biden and Vice President Harris have made addressing the nation's overdose epidemic and cracking down on illicit drug trafficking a top priority. Since President Biden negotiated the resumption of counternarcotics cooperation with President Xi, dozens of deadly substances have now been scheduled by the PRC. This is an important step in the right direction, and we will continue working with our international partners to take strong and urgent action against the global threat of synthetic drugs. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to doing all we can to disrupt the supply of illicit fentanyl and save lives."

Just last week, President Biden issued a new National Security Memorandum calling on all relevant Federal Departments and Agencies to do even more to stop the supply of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in our country, and President Biden and Vice President Harris issued a call for Congress to enact legislation to close loopholes that drug traffickers exploit to bring deadly drugs into our communities.

Read the fact sheet on new actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to counter the scourge of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs HERE.

Read President Biden's statement on the new initiatives to counter the scourge of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs HERE.

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