This week, the drug policy reform movement averted disaster after a deeply damaging SITSA Act --formally known as the "Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017"-- was excluded from a large package of bills aimed at tackling the overdose crisis. The bill would have expanded penalties on synthetic analogue drugs, similar to fentanyl, and given Attorney General Jeff Sessions broad power to schedule certain drugs and therefore set penalties. This road to victory was hard fought over the course of more than a year, and the result came about because of several communities uniting around this important cause.
In June 2017, the bill was first introduced. The drug policy and criminal justice reform movements were reeling from the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and his elimination of the "Smart on Crime" memo, which meant that Sessions' prosecutors would now aggressively pursue mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. The threat of a crackdown on marijuana legalization loomed large. Against that backdrop, SITSA was introduced. The scope of the bill -- allowing the Attorney General broad powers to unilaterally decide which drugs should be scheduled -- was unprecedented for any time, let alone a moment when the Trump Administration was so intent on escalating the drug war. We had to fight back.
The popularity of criminal justice reform was a boon to our cause. In previous Congresses, Republicans and Democrats in both chambers had worked together to advance legislation that reduced sentences for drug offenses, and many recognized that -- despite the overdose crisis -- we cannot incarcerate our way out of this problem. So it was up to those of us in the criminal justice reform community to point out to legislators the contradiction -- how can you be for sentencing reform and support SITSA?
Media attention on the bill highlighted the flaws in the "lock-em up" approach to synthetic analogue drugs. As NPR aptly noted, "For nearly four years now, an unusual coalition of Republicans and Democrats has worked to reduce mandatory prison terms for many federal drug crimes. But that bipartisan movement may be shallower than it appears. Indeed, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who both supported a cut-back on some drug punishments, are preparing a bill that would create tough new penalties for people caught with synthetic opioid drugs." The Washington Post wrote, "Congress is considering a bill that would expand Jeff Sessions' power to escalate the war on drugs."
Another community that was engaged were supporters of Kratom -- a herbal substance used by people with chronic pain and opioid use problems. Under the bill, Kratom would almost certainly be banned, and tough penalties would apply to anyone who used the substance. From day one, Kratom supporters pressured their members of Congress to oppose the bill.
