TEXAS, (KMID/KPEJ)- The United States is said to be facing the worst drug crisis in history, and new acts are being put into place to help combat the fentanyl crisis, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), kills over 150 people a day.
The CDC defines fentanyl as a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine and is commonly mixed with other illicit drugs to make it cheaper, stronger, and more addictive.
The DEA has said that drug trafficking organizations usually distribute fentanyl by the kilogram, and that just one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
The DEA’s reported statistics showed that in 2021, nearly 107,000 Americans died from an overdose, and 65% of overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl. The following year, more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl were seized, which is enough to supply a lethal dose to every American.
The fentanyl crisis has affected every state, including Texas, which according to the Texas Governor’s website, kills more than five Texans a day.
Partial and preliminary data from 2022 and 2023, recorded by the Texas Department of State Health Services showed that a reported amount of 35 Ector County citizens and 16 Midlanders died from fentanyl poisoning.
The drug crisis affects everyone in America, including local areas and because of the growing rates of death everywhere and the danger of fentanyl, a new act led by U.S. Senator Tim Scott and cosponsored by Senator John Cornyn was signed into law on Thursday, April 25, 2024, to help combat the Fentanyl and drug epidemic.
The Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act was made to enhance current laws so that U.S. government agencies can track and penalize the trafficking of fentanyl more easily. To do this, the FEND Off Fentanyl Act will:
- Declare the international trafficking of fentanyl a national emergency;
- Require the President to sanction transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels’ key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking;
- Enable the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts;
- Enhance the ability to enforce sanctions violations, making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted;
- Require the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids;
- Allow the U.S. Department of the Treasury to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering;
- Require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions;
- Include descriptions of drug cartels’ financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports.
U.S Senator John Cornyn from Texas and cosponsor of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, released a statement saying, “The fentanyl crisis is devastating communities in Texas and across the country, and those who fund and profit from it must be held accountable, by targeting the financial assets of Chinese precursor manufacturers and Mexican cartels, this law will kneecap the supply chain of this deadly drug and help save American lives.”
To learn more about fentanyl prevention and awareness visit this website.
