Image courtesy Pixabay: Opioid abuse.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, said an increase in fentanyl trafficking at the border is leading to deaths in the Manatee-Sarasota area. He led a bipartisan letter this week urging a crackdown on synthetic drugs arriving in the country.

Buchanan earlier this year filed the Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act with Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H. The bill would permanently classify fentanyl and any related substances as Schedule I narcotics.

“This bill is one more tool for law enforcement to reduce the amount of illegal fentanyl on our streets and fight back against the illegal fentanyl producers, smugglers and dealers who are directly responsible for the deaths of so many Americans,” Buchanan said. “Congress should act to give law enforcement certainty and one more tool to protect our communities.”

In June alone, Customs and Border Protection officials report seizing 951 pounds of fentanyl at the U.S. Mexico border. That’s a 300% increase over what was collected in May 2020. Year-to-date, the increase has been even more significant. A total of 4,241 pounds of fentanyl have been intercepted for the calendar year, a 365% boost from the same period in 2020.

And its not staying at the border. Buchanan noted two major fentanyl traffickers were caught in Manatee County and sentenced last week respectively to 11 and 30 months in prison respectively. But that means within a few years, they could be back in operation. That’s why he wants stiffer penalties.

He and Pappas together sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asking for a vote to be slated on the bill.

“To address this continued surge in opioid related deaths, since 2018, illegal fentanyl and fentanyl analogs have been classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Schedule I substance to allow federal law enforcement authorities greater latitude to bring criminal actions against individuals who manufacture, distribute or handle fentanyl-related substances,” the letter reads. “Unfortunately, this classification is temporary and set to expire on October 22, 2021.”

Fentalyl-related overdoses account for 73% of opioid-involved deaths and 52% of all fatal drug overdoses in the country, the letter states.

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells and Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman have both expressed support for the legislation.

Image courtesy Pixabay: Opioid abuse.