Support Law Enforcement to Combat the Opioid Crisis
Drug addiction is an all too common problem in communities across America, and recently, fentanyl use has gained traction. From big cities to small towns, illegal fentanyl – largely produced in China and smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico and over our southern border – is a crisis that is stretching border agents and local police departments beyond their limits.
Fentanyl seizures at our southern border have particularly skyrocketed, increasing by 134% in FY2021. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. A dose of just 2 milligrams at 100% purity is enough to kill most Americans. In FY2021, 11,201 pounds of the deadly drug were seized by Customs and Border Protection coming across our southern border, which, at its highest purity level, is enough to kill every American almost 8 times. Easier and cheaper to produce than cocaine or heroin because it is entirely synthetic, fentanyl is 20 times more profitable than other drugs that lawless cartels smuggle across the border.
Such a dramatic increase in seizures begs the question, how much fentanyl makes it past our overwhelmed, understaffed border agents? Sadly, all too much. In 2021, the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45 was fentanyl overdose.
In Arkansas, overdose deaths increased by 40% in 2020, which was above the national average. Thousands of Americans from all walks of life, all races, all creeds, and all economic conditions are caught up in the opioid epidemic, with fentanyl being the most recent and deadly culprit. According to Arkansas Drug Director Kirk Lane’s interview with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “We are seeing that [fentanyl] in all sorts of substances, whether pressing it into a counterfeit pill, meth, cocaine and even marijuana.”
Repairing the damage that fentanyl has done to Americans is not simple, but there are steps we can take. President Biden and Vice President Harris, the so-called Border Czar who hasn’t spent more than one day at the border since taking office, need to enforce out laws by allowing our border patrol agents to take control of the southern border. That means working to stop illegal immigrants that distract border patrol agents from being able to crack down on drug smugglers. Chaos at the border makes it easier to smuggle drugs into our cities. The President and Vice President have the power to bring that chaos under control, and they need to do so now.
Next, we must empower local law enforcement with the tools and the manpower to fight this war in our small towns. That is why I cosponsored the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act by Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) to provide additional funds to smaller police departments who often do not receive the resources of large, metropolitan departments. These funds will go toward trainings, equipment, recruitment for additional officers, and mental health resources.
It is to the nation's benefit to ensure our police are fully equipped to keep themselves and our citizens safe, regardless of the department's size. Especially in today's climate, rural police officers must be supported more than ever to ensure their success and bolster officer retention. We rely on our men and women in uniform to fight threats such as illegal drug distribution as our final line of defense. We must give law enforcement on our border and our small towns every tool possible to end the crisis that has already killed so many Americans.