Feds Add Fentanyl Precursor Drugs to Controlled Substances Act in Effort to Stop Opioid Deaths

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chemist pours 2,500 packs of confirmed fentanyl onto a counter for testing at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

The federal government will more strictly regulate chemicals used in the production of fentanyl as of Aug. 30.

“The overdose crisis, and the increasingly toxic illegal drug supply, continue to have devastating impacts on individuals, communities and families across Canada,” said Health Canada in a June 5 news release.

According to government data, nearly 75 percent of accidental opioid deaths and overdoses since 2017 have involved fentanyl or related substances.

Regulatory changes will come into effect at the end of August that will schedule a specific group of chemicals, novel fentanyl precursors, as chemicals under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).

This group of drugs are analogues and derivatives of N-phenyl-4-piperidinamine and its salts, also known as 4-AP. The government said these chemicals “do not have any legitimate industrial, commercial, or medical uses, and controlling them will help to address their use in the illegal production of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.”

“This measure will enable law enforcement to continue to take action against any illegal importation, distribution, and use of these precursor chemicals, which are used in the illegal production of fentanyl by illegal drug producers,” said Health Canada.

These regulatory changes follow a temporary ministerial order that was put in place for one year to try and disrupt the illegal importation and distribution of precursor fentanyl chemicals.

Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said authorities have to start at the border to “stop illegal drugs like fentanyl precursors from coming into Canada.”

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency took similar action on April 17, under that country’s Controlled Substances Act.

Drug Deaths Doubled

Canada’s data on opioid and stimulant harms documented an average of eight opioid-related deaths per day in 2016. Since 2017, the federal government said it has “taken evidence-based action to address the overdose crisis” and supports a “full continuum of compassionate, evidence-based actions and innovative strategies to address the toxic drug and overdose crisis and save lives.”

The total cost since 2017 has been over $1 billion for “improving access to harm reduction services and treatment, funding awareness, prevention, and stigma reduction activities, supporting research and surveillance initiatives, and strengthening law enforcement capacity to address illegal drug production and trafficking.”

The average number of opioid-related deaths per day has now more than doubled since 2016, with an all-time high of 21 deaths per day in 2021.

The number of opioid-related hospitalizations also grew from 13 per day in 2016, to 17 per day in 2021.

The government said it was also providing border services officers with tools and equipment to safely and effectively detect, identify, and interdict fentanyl and other toxic substances at the border.

“As part of Budget 2018 funding for the opioid crisis, the Government of Canada dedicated $31.6 million over five years to equip the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to more safely and effectively detect, identify and interdict fentanyl and other highly toxic substances at ports of entry,” said Health Canada.

Between April 2018 and April 2022, the CBSA seized more than 20 kilograms of fentanyl at the border, plus over 22,000 kilograms of other narcotics, drugs, and chemicals between April 2021 and March 2022. The agency has on-site chemists in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, as well as six drug and gun detector dog teams.