Charleston Leader

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) has 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.).

The SIMSA Act aims to address the issue of deadly drugs that are similar to already-controlled substances but are engineered to evade detection, often originating from China or Mexico.

"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," said Senator Capito. "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."

Current U.S. law prohibits unauthorized use of certain controlled substances, but illicit drug makers circumvent these laws by altering single atoms in controlled substances to create new variants that are not yet banned but have similar effects on users. These uncontrolled substances must undergo a time-consuming analysis before the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) can permanently schedule them.

The full text of the bill is available online.