Photo Credit by Gage Skidmore
[VT – Washington, D.C., November 3, 2025] U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman (Republican–Wyoming) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (Democrat–New Mexico) have reintroduced the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, a bipartisan and bicameral bill designed to assist law enforcement in cracking down on the production of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.
The House version of the bill is co-sponsored by Representative Russell Fry (Republican–South Carolina), Representative Dan Crenshaw (Republican–Texas), and Representative Josh Harder (Democrat–California).
In the U.S. Senate, the companion legislation has been introduced by Senator John Cornyn (Republican–Texas) and Senator Chris Coons (Democrat–Delaware), along with Senator Jerry Moran (Republican–Kansas), Senator John Fetterman (Democrat–Pennsylvania), Senator Thom Tillis (Republican–North Carolina), Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat–Minnesota), Senator Drew McCormick (Republican–Pennsylvania), Senator Ruben Gallego (Democrat–Arizona), Senator Maria Cantwell (Democrat–Washington), and Senator Marsha Blackburn (Republican–Tennessee).
The Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act would amend the Controlled Substances Act to require serialization for pill presses and punches. Each device must carry a unique serial number, which cannot be removed or altered. The bill also prohibits the distribution or sale of any equipment with a tampered or missing serial number.
Context and Background
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid estimated to be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. It is commonly used in counterfeit pills that mimic legitimate prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), law enforcement seized more than 61.1 million fake pills in 2024, with seven out of ten containing a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
Criminal organizations have used pill presses, dies, and punches to produce these counterfeit drugs on a large scale. While these machines are legally used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, they have increasingly been diverted for illegal drug production.
Representative Harriet Hageman stated:
“Fentanyl continues to devastate communities across America. Cartels are using pill presses to disguise deadly fentanyl as legitimate prescription drugs. This bill gives law enforcement stronger tools to trace this equipment and hold traffickers accountable.”
Representative Josh Harder said:
“The fentanyl epidemic is killing our communities. We must use every tool available to stop criminals who are poisoning our families, starting with dismantling the counterfeit pill industry.”
