[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 103 (Thursday, June 18, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5886. Mr. McCORMICK (for himself, Mr. Ricketts, and Mrs. Shaheen) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 
4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and 
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe 
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. _____. NITAZINE CONTROL ACT.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Nitazene Control Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) 2-Benzylbenzimidazole opioids are a class of synthetic 
     opioids first synthesized in the 1950s that exhibit 
     significant potency at the mu-opioid receptor, with some 
     substances exceeding the potency of fentanyl.
       (2) The Drug Enforcement Administration has temporarily or 
     permanently scheduled multiple 2-benzylbenzimidazole opioids 
     compounds under schedule I of section 202(c) of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) due to their 
     high abuse potential and lack of accepted medical use.
       (3) Nitazenes and related compounds have emerged in the 
     illicit drug supply as designer drugs and contribute to 
     overdose and fatal poisonings in the United States.
       (4) A class-wide permanent scheduling of 2-
     benzylbenzimidazole opioids is necessary to preemptively 
     address the proliferation of new analogs, streamline 
     enforcement, and protect public health.
       (5) The HALT Fentanyl Act (28 U.S.C. 801 note; Public Law 
     119-26) created pathways for research using schedule I 
     controlled substances that apply to scheduled nitazenes.
       (c) Schedule I Classification of Nitazenes.--
       (1) Amendment.--Schedule I of section 202(c) of the 
     Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(f)(1) Unless specifically exempted or unless listed in 
     another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or 
     preparation which contains any quantity of a 2-
     benzylbenzimidazole opioid, or which contains the salts, 
     isomers, and salts of isomers of a 2-benzylbenzimidazole 
     opioid.
       ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term `2-
     benzylbenzimidazole opioid' includes the following:
       ``(A) A substance that is structurally related to 2-
     benzylbenzimidazole with the following modifications:
       ``(i) At the 1-position, substitution with an alkyl linker 
     connected to a substituted amine group containing hydrogen, 
     alkyl, alkenyl, or heteroaryl group, such as a morphilino, 
     pyrrolidino, or piperidinyl groups, whether or not further 
     substituted.
       ``(ii) At the 2-position--
       ``(I) replacement of the alkyl portion of the benzyl group 
     with a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkoxy, carbamates 
     group, nitrogen, sulfur, or oxygen atom; or
       ``(II) replacement of the phenyl portion of the benzyl 
     group with an aryl or heteroaryl group.
       ``(iii) Substitution on the phenyl portion of the 
     benzimidazole ring with a hydrogen atom, halogen, nitro, 
     cyano, substituted or unsubstituted amide, amine, alkyl, 
     alkoxy, aryl, or heteroaryl group.
       ``(iv) At the 6-position, substitution with hydrogen, 
     nitro, trifluoromethyl, methoxy, trifluoromethoxy, cyano, and 
     halogen groups.
       ``(B) A substance that exhibits agonist activity at the mu-
     opioid receptor.
       ``(C) Etonitazene, clonitazene, metonitazene, 
     isotonitazene, protonitazene, butonitazene, etodesnitazene, 
     flunitazene, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, N-desethyl 
     isotonitazene, and N-piperidinyl etonitazene.''.
       (2) Removal of temporary status.--Any substance included in 
     the amendment made by paragraph (1) that was temporarily 
     scheduled under section 201(h) of the Controlled Substances 
     Act (21 U.S.C. 811(h)) shall be deemed permanently scheduled 
     and subject to the requirements of schedule I of section 
     202(c) of that Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) as of the date of 
     enactment of this Act.
       (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
     be construed to authorize the initiation of new research 
     using 2-benzylbenzimidazole opioids, as defined in subsection 
     (f) of schedule I of section 202(c) of the Controlled 
     Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)), as added by paragraph (1) 
     of this section, without proper registration and scheduling 
     compliance.

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