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S 2481
Introduced Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.

Stop Trafficking in Fentanyl Act of 2018

To increase the penalties for fentanyl trafficking.

Introduced Mar 1, 2018

Latest action (Apr 11, 2018) Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. Hearings held.

Referred to
Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee Judiciary Committee
Policy area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Issues
Criminal Justice
Legislative subjects (2)
Criminal procedure and sentencingDrug trafficking and controlled substances

Summary

This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to increase penalties for fentanyl trafficking by dramatically lowering the quantity thresholds required to trigger enhanced federal penalties. Under the bill, possession or trafficking of 20 grams of fentanyl (instead of 400 grams) or 5 grams (instead of 100 grams) would trigger one level of enhanced penalties. For other penalty categories, the thresholds are reduced from 40 grams to 2 grams and from 10 grams to 0.5 grams. The effect is that individuals involved in fentanyl trafficking face enhanced criminal penalties even when dealing with much smaller quantities than previously required.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Actions (3)
  1. Apr 11, 2018 Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. Hearings held. · senate
  2. Mar 1, 2018 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. · senate
  3. Mar 1, 2018 Introduced in Senate

More bills on these subjects (8)

Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).

  • HR 9770 — Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027 (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 1266 — Combating Illicit Xylazine Act (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 5880 — Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 7148 — Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 7006 — Financial Services and General Government and National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • S 2882 — Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 3838 — Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (shares 2 subjects)
  • HR 5450 — Continuing Appropriations and Extensions and Other Matters Act, 2026 (shares 2 subjects)

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

  • S 2635 — Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act of 2018 · Introduced Apr 11, 2018 · Cong. 115 79%
  • HR 4571 — Combating Online Fentanyl Trafficking Act · Introduced Jul 21, 2025 · Cong. 119 79%
  • HR 8535 — Measuring Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act · Passed House Jul 14, 2026 · Cong. 119 78%
  • HR 3764 — Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act of 2025 · Introduced Jun 5, 2025 · Cong. 119 76%
  • S 1502 — Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act of 2025 · Introduced Apr 29, 2025 · Cong. 119 75%
  • S 3330 — Strengthening Sanctions on Fentanyl Traffickers Act of 2025 · Introduced Dec 3, 2025 · Cong. 119 75%

Text versions (1)
  • Introduced in Senate · Mar 1, 2018

Only one text version is on file, so there’s no earlier version to compare against yet.

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 1, 2018

Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To increase the penalties for fentanyl trafficking.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Stop Trafficking in Fentanyl Act of 2018”.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES.

Section 401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (A)(vi)—

(A) by striking “400 grams” and inserting “20 grams”; and

(B) by striking “100 grams” and inserting “5 grams”; and

(2) in subparagraph (B)(vi)—

(A) by striking “40 grams” and inserting “2 grams”; and

(B) by striking “10 grams” and inserting “0.5 grams”. <all>

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