S. 3257: A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to lengthen the period of time during which certain controlled substances must be administered to a patient after being delivered by a pharmacy to the administering practitioner.

S. 3257: A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to lengthen the period of time during which certain controlled substances must be administered to a patient after being delivered by a pharmacy to the administering practitioner.

117th Congress · introduced 2021-11-18 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-11-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to lengthen the period of time during which certain controlled substances must be administered to a patient after being delivered by a pharmacy to the administering practitioner.

Plain summary

This bill increases the number of days—from 14 to 60—within which a practitioner must administer certain narcotic drugs (e.g., buprenorphine) to a patient for maintenance or detoxification treatment (i.e., substance use disorder treatment) after receiving the drugs from a pharmacy. Additionally, the bill revises the process by which the Department of Justice may modify the number of days within which such drugs must be administered.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to lengthen the period of time during which certain controlled substances must be administered to a patient after being delivered by a pharmacy to the administering practitioner.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] reported raising $176,810 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s3257.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s3257 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117