Today is the second annual National Fentanyl Awareness Day
Christopher Tremoglie
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The U.S.-Mexico border has plunged into uncontrollable chaos since President Joe Biden’s administration took office in January 2021. His immediate decision to cut or reverse former President Donald Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy almost instantly led to record-breaking illegal border crossings. One result is that more and more of the deadly drug fentanyl is being smuggled into the country amid the chaos.
Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 50 million fentanyl-laced pills and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, CBS News reported. That’s enough of the narcotic to kill every person in the country.
$5M WORTH OF MEXICAN FENTANYL SEIZED FROM SECRET COMPARTMENT OF BRONX SUV
“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered,” said Anne Milgram, administrator of the DEA. “Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison. We must take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl-related overdose death and poisonings from claiming scores of American lives every day.”
According to the CDC, two out of every three fatal drug overdoses are attributed to fentanyl. More than 70,000 people died from the drug just in 2021, CBS News reported. It’s a crisis that harms communities throughout the country and plagues the nation. May 9 was established to bring awareness of the urgency of fentanyl’s toxic grip on the U.S.
“One year ago, on the first National Fentanyl Awareness Day, DEA opened the Faces of Fentanyl exhibit at DEA Headquarters — a wall in DEA’s West Building that displays the photos of those who lost their lives to fentanyl poisoning,” a press release on the DEA website read. “The memorial started with 100 photos; over the past year, Americans from across the country have sent DEA more than 5,000 photos. It reflects the reality that fentanyl is killing Americans from all walks of life, in every state and community in this country. The youngest person on the wall is Forever 17-months old. The oldest is Forever 70 years old. The Faces of Fentanyl exhibit has become a safe and compassionate space for grieving families impacted by fentanyl to visit when in the Washington, D.C., area.”
The Biden administration has neglected the border situation for far too long. In doing so, it has endangered innocent people throughout the country. Border officials cannot adequately do their job if they are overwhelmed with illegal immigrants trying to enter the country. It drains resources that should be available to help prevent smuggling fentanyl shipments into the country.
Most fentanyl comes through entry points at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the DEA and Customs and Border Protection. Some of it is smuggled from China through air travel. Fentanyl entering the country through Mexico ends up in communities in North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, and major east coast cities such as Philadelphia. It’s a crisis that should have been addressed yesterday.
This problem affects everyone. It isn’t a Republican or Democratic thing — this is an American issue and needs to be treated as such.
“Fentanyl is the greatest threat to Americans today,” Milgram said in a separate statement on the DEA website. “It kills more Americans between the ages of 18 to 45 than terrorism, than car accidents, than cancer, than COVID. It kills nearly 200 Americans every day. And the number of children under 14 dying from fentanyl poisoning has increased at an alarming rate. The two drug cartels responsible for bringing fentanyl into the U.S. — the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels — are intentionally driving addiction by selling fake pills and hiding fentanyl in other drugs, and they are reaching our kids through using social media platforms. I encourage you to use this day to talk to your families about the dangers of fentanyl and have an important conversation with your kids about who they are communicating with on social media.”