[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71582-71583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22797]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Notice of Meeting
Pursuant to Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's (CSAP) Drug Testing Advisory
Board (DTAB) will convene via web conference on December 5, 2023, from
10 a.m. EST to 4:30 p.m.
The board will meet in open-session December 5, 2023, from 10 a.m.
EST to 4:30 p.m. EST to hear Federal Partner updates and presentations
regarding NLCP activities, updates to the MRO manuals, lab created
cannabinoids and other contaminants in commercially available products
and the process for adding or removing analytes from the analyte table
for federally regulated testing. The board will discuss the Mandatory
Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs and updates to
the analyte table to include Fentanyl. Additionally the Department is
asking for public comments on the recommendation of adding fentanyl/
nor-fentanyl to the analyte table.
Section 8105 of the Fighting Opioid Abuse in Transportation Act,
included in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, required the
Secretary to determine whether it is justified, based on the
reliability and cost-effectiveness of testing, to revise the Mandatory
Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs to include
fentanyl. Section 8105 additionally required the Secretary to consider
whether to include any other drugs or other substances listed in
Schedule I and II of Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Norfentanyl is a
metabolite of fentanyl. Because it is also an immediate precursor used
in the illicit manufacture of fentanyl, it is a Schedule II substance
under the CSA.
[[Page 71583]]
Fentanyl accounts for a large proportion of overdose deaths in the
United States and is therefore an important public safety concern.
Furthermore, fentanyl is increasingly used as a stand-alone substance
of abuse, not in conjunction with heroin and other substances.
According to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System
(NFLIS) 2021 report, fentanyl was the 4th most frequently identified
drug and accounted for 11.61% of all drugs reported by forensic
laboratories.\1\ Norfentanyl is an important component of identifying
fentanyl users when urine is the specimen matrix. Fentanyl has been
detected in oral fluid in pain management patients, overdose cases, and
driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases. Information provided
by HHS-certified laboratories in 2023 indicated that a majority (84%)
of the laboratories analyzed non-regulated workplace specimens for
fentanyl and/or norfentanyl, and that all had the ability to analyze
urine specimens for fentanyl with sufficiently sensitive detection
limits using commercially available immunoassay kits and confirmatory
test instrumentation commonly used in HHS-certified laboratories.
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\1\ National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS).
(2021). NFLIS-Drug 2021 Annual Report. U.S. Department of Justice,
Drug Enforcement Agency, Diversion Control Division. https://www.nflis.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/.
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The Division of Workplace Programs welcomes public comment prior to
the DTAB meeting regarding the possible addition of Fentanyl to the
Urine and Oral Fluid Analyte Table. Please see below for the process to
submit comments.
Addition to HHS Drug Testing Panels as listed below:
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Initial
test Confirmation
cutoff cutoff
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Urine Analyte:
Fentanyl...................................... 1 ng/mL 0.5 ng/mL.
Norfentanyl................................... 1 ng/mL 0.5 ng/mL.
Oral Fluid Analyte:
Fentanyl...................................... 1 ng/mL 0.5 ng/mL.
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Meeting registration information can be completed at https://snacregister.samhsa.gov/. Web conference and call information will be
sent after completing registration. Meeting information and a roster of
DTAB members may be obtained by accessing the SAMHSA Advisory
Committees website, https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/advisory-councils/meetings, or by contacting the Designated Federal Officer, Lisa Davis.
Committee Name: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Drug Testing
Advisory Board.
Dates/Time/Type: December 5, 2023, from 10 a.m. EST to 4:30 p.m.
EST: OPEN.
Place: Virtual.
To Submit Comments: Requests to make public comment during the
public comment period of the December DTAB meeting must be made in
writing at least 7 days prior to the meeting to the following email:
[email protected].
Please submit written comments regarding the addition of Fentanyl
to the analyte table to the following email: [email protected].
Comments regarding the addition of Fentanyl to the analyte table
will be accepted for review for an additional 30 days following this
meeting, or no later than January 4th, 2024.
Contact: Lisa S. Davis, M.S., Social Science Analyst, Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland
20857, Telephone: (240) 276-1440, Email: [email protected].
Anastasia Flanagan,
Public Health Advisor, Division of Workplace Programs.
[FR Doc. 2023-22797 Filed 10-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P