U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) threw her weight behind the HALT Fentanyl Act (S. 331) today, announcing her role as a cosponsor of the bipartisan bill to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and impose stiff penalties on traffickers.
The move marks a capstone to her years-long crusade against the opioid epidemic, spotlighting a crisis she says claims “a high school classroom worth of students” weekly.
“Every week, the equivalent of a high school classroom worth of students dies from a fentanyl overdose. It is our responsibility as leaders to do something about this now,” Moody said in a statement. “Law enforcement officials, national organizations, and state organizations across our country are pleading for this bill. We cannot and will not stop going after people who peddle this poison. Hundreds of thousands of lives depend on it.”
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Moody’s track record on fentanyl is formidable. As Florida’s Attorney General from 2019 to 2025, she pioneered aggressive measures, including being the first to urge the federal government to designate fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction in 2022.
That year, she also pressed the Biden administration to label Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations—a step President Donald Trump took on his first day back in office this January. Her tenure saw Florida lead the nation in fentanyl seizures, with a 2023 state death rate drop of 11% against a national decline of just 2%.
The HALT Fentanyl Act, introduced by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would lock in a 2018 temporary DEA order placing fentanyl analogues—synthetic knockoffs tweaked to skirt laws—under Schedule I, reserved for drugs with no medical use and high abuse potential.
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It sets mandatory minimums: five years for trafficking 10 grams or more, doubling to 10 for repeat offenders, and 10 years for 100 grams, with life possible on a second bust. With the temporary status expiring March 31, 2025, Moody’s push comes at a critical juncture.
Her Florida legacy bolsters her Senate stance. Moody secured billions through historic opioid litigation, launched the Helping Heroes program to distribute free Naroxone to first responders through 2033, and rolled out the Dose of Reality website to educate on addiction.
In 2023, she teamed with Governor Ron DeSantis to pass the State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication (SAFE) Initiative, funneling $15 million to law enforcement—yielding seizures of 290 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill over 65 million people. She also issued emergency rules banning eight synthetic opioids and warned of lethal counterfeit pills and flesh-eating drugs laced with fentanyl.
Moody’s multistate efforts as AG included leading 23 states in 2023 to demand the Senate pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, a call she now amplifies as a senator.
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“This legislation is critical to saving American lives,” she reiterated, echoing pleas from police and advocacy groups like Facing Fentanyl. The bill, with 24 Senate cosponsors, cleared the Judiciary Committee last month and awaits a floor vote, with Trump’s OMB signaling his intent to sign it.
As overdose deaths—nearly 75,000 from fentanyl in 2023—remain a top killer of Americans aged 18-49, Moody’s cosponsorship signals unrelenting resolve. “We have worked tirelessly to get this passed,” she said, framing it as a rebuke to years of inaction. With a deadline looming, her voice adds urgency to a fight she’s waged from Tallahassee to D.C.
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