I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5032 
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to permanently schedule the class 
of benzimidazole-opioids known as nitazenes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 22, 2025 
Mr. VINDMAN (for himself and Mr. BAUMGARTNER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to permanently 
schedule the class of benzimidazole-opioids known as 
nitazenes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nitazene Control Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids 
first synthesized in the 1950s that exhibit extreme 
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potency at the mu-opioid receptor, with some 
analogs exceeding the potency of fentanyl. 
(2) The Drug Enforcement Administration 
(DEA) has temporarily or permanently scheduled 
multiple nitazene compounds under Schedule I of 
the Controlled Substances Act due to their high 
abuse potential and lack of accepted medical use. 
(3) Nitazenes and nitazene analogues have 
emerged in the illicit drug supply as designer drugs 
and contribute to overdose and fatal poisonings in 
the United States. 
(4) A class-wide permanent scheduling of 
nitazenes is necessary to preemptively address the 
proliferation of new analogs, streamline enforcement, 
and protect public health. 
SEC. 3. SCHEDULE I CLASSIFICATION OF NITAZENES. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 202(c) of the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) is amended by adding 
at the end of Schedule I the following: 
‘‘(f) Benzimidazole-opioids, commonly referred to as 
nitazenes, including any substance (including its salts, iso-
mers, and salts of isomers) that has a chemical structure 
that is substantially similar to that of etonitazene or 
isotonitazene, including: 
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‘‘(1) A benzimidazole core substituted at the 2- 
position with a benzyl or substituted benzyl group; 
and 
‘‘(2) A basic nitrogen-containing side chain at 
the 1-position; and 
‘‘(3) Exhibits agonist activity at the mu-opioid 
receptor. 
Such substances include, but are not limited to: 
etonitazene, clonitazene, metonitazene, isotonitazene, 
protonitazene, butonitazene, etodesnitazene, flunitazene, 
N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, N-desethyl isotonitazene, and 
N-piperidinyl etonitazene.’’. 
(b) REMOVAL OF TEMPORARY STATUS.—Any sub-
stance included in the amendment to section 202(c) of the 
Controlled Substances Act made by this section that was 
temporarily scheduled under section 201(h) of the Con-
trolled Substances Act shall be deemed permanently 
scheduled and subject to the requirements of Schedule I 
as of the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen-
eral, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, may issue rules to clarify the scope of 
the nitazene class as necessary to enforce this section, pro-
vided such rules are consistent with the chemical definition 
in subsection (a)(1). 
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(d) RESEARCH EXEMPTION.— 
(1) Notwithstanding the amendments made by 
subsection (a), a researcher who, as of the date of 
enactment of this Act, is conducting research involv-
ing a substance described in subsection (a) that was 
not previously listed in Schedule I of section 202(c) 
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
812(c)), shall not be required to obtain a registra-
tion under section 303(f) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 
823(f)) solely due to the inclusion of that substance 
in Schedule I, provided that: 
(A) the research is being conducted pursu-
ant to an active investigational new drug (IND) 
application or other applicable regulatory ex-
emption recognized by the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration or Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion; 
(B) the research was approved by an insti-
tutional review board (IRB) prior to the enact-
ment of this Act; and 
(C) the researcher notifies the Attorney 
General, in a manner determined by the Attor-
ney General, within 90 days of enactment of 
this Act. 
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(2) The exemption under paragraph (1) shall 
remain in effect for a period not to exceed 18 
months from the date of enactment, during which 
time the researcher may apply for a registration 
under section 303(f), and the Attorney General shall 
expedite such applications to ensure continuity of re-
search. 
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be con-
strued to authorize the initiation of new research 
using substances described in subsection (a) without 
proper registration and scheduling compliance. 
Æ 
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