Congress Wants To Give Jeff Sessions Unprecedented New Drug War Powers

The SITSA Act would turn the attorney general into the chief arbiter of what substances Americans can buy, sell, and put in their bodies.

Mike Riggs|Jun. 20, 2018 1:15 pm

If you think the Department of Justice has more than enough tools to wage the war on drugs, a bill passed by the House would create a fast-track scheduling system that could lead to the criminalization of kratom, nootropics, and pretty much anything that gives you a buzz and isn't already illegal.

The House of Representatives voted on Friday to create a new schedule of banned drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, called "Schedule A," and to give Attorney General Jeff Sessions broad new powers to criminalize the manufacturing, importation, and sale of substances that are currently unregulated, but not illegal. The bill is now headed to the Senate, where co-sponsors Dianne Feinstein (D–Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R–Iowa) will likely have little problem whipping votes.

The Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogs Act, or SITSA, is intended to crack down on drugs that closely resemble currently banned or regulated substances in either their chemical structure or intended effects. SITSA would also empower the attorney general (A.G.) to add drugs to this new schedule with few checks from other branches of government.
....

When SITSA came up for a vote in the House, the House Liberty Caucus released a statement {see the .jpg below} condemning the decision to "cede more of Congress's legislative authority to the Attorney General and grant the AG more power to fight the war on drugs, which has eroded federalism, eviscerated numerous individual rights, entrenched severe discrimination in our criminal justice system, and failed to meaningfully limit the proliferation of illicit drugs."

Thanks to the advocacy of Rep. Justin Amash (R–Mich.) and others, provisions were added to the House version of SITSA that appear to constrain the attorney general—though they probably won't. "Even with the sponsor's amendment," says the Liberty Caucus's statement, "this bill allows the AG to schedule substances permanently without significant input or involvement by the Department of Health and Services."