A report has been released by members of the U.S. House on the trafficking of synthetic opioids. Congressman Fred Upton tells WSJM News the final report of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking lays the groundwork for legislation to fight the proliferation of fentanyl.
“We’ve got to take this fentanyl crisis head on,” Upton said. “We’ve lost nearly a million Americans since 1999 who have died of an overdose. Every community is faced with this, a lot of families, including mine.”
Upton tells us the substances originate in China and then get shipped to Mexico. Then they’re smuggled into the U.S. He notes one area of the law likely to change is how synthetic opioids are defined.
“Literally, we’ve discovered that the drug lords could change one little piece of this, one little molecule and all of the sudden, it’s classified as a different drug, and therefore doesn’t fit the normal judicious process where you can throw people behind bars,” Upton said. “That’s got to change.”
Upton says a whole range of steps need to be taken to address the problem. They include strong border security, updating the federal classification of synthetic opioids, mental health and medical health services, and support for law enforcement. He’s expecting legislation based on the report to emerge soon.
