As Congress weighed permanent class-wide scheduling of illicit fentanyl analogs, the AANS and the CNS played a pivotal role in shaping the debate. In February, the organizations led a joint letter with seven other medical societies to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders ahead of the high-profile hearing, The Poisoning of America: Fentanyl, Its Analogues, and the Need for Permanent Class Scheduling. The letter, entered into the congressional record, underscored neurosurgery’s dual commitment to combating the opioid epidemic while preserving access to evidence-based pain management tools like intrathecal pain pumps.
The hearing laid the groundwork for Senate passage of the bipartisan HALT Fentanyl Act, which passed 84–16 on March 14. Neurosurgery’s input was explicitly cited by Senate Judiciary Committee staff as influential in securing that outcome. The AANS and the CNS also issued a press release reinforcing their position that DEA scheduling reforms must carefully distinguish between illicit fentanyl and FDA-approved therapies used to treat patients with cancer and neurological conditions.
In recognition of neurosurgery’s engagement, Senate leaders committed to revisiting problematic provisions in the original SUPPORT Act of 2018 that restricted access to physician-directed treatments. Tailored legislative language has since been submitted, and discussions remain ongoing.
