[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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   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