It goes without saying that the fentanyl epidemic is harming our community. My father killed himself after a long battle with opioids and his former doctor is currently spending seven years behind bars due to overprescribing over a dozen individuals. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid magnitudes more deadly than the opioids that led to my father’s death. Unfortunately, the majority of people OD’ing on fentanyl think they are consuming a different substance. It is being laced on myriad substances and can be hidden with ease. From celebrities like Lil Peep dying in Tucson to the youngest of Arizonan children accidentally swallowing pills, we need to make serious progress countering the influx of fentanyl.
We must hire more border patrol agents and allow them to do their jobs. We must re-open the checkpoints in Arivaca, Sasabe, Douglas, and Yuma that were recently closed. We should be focusing our resources on points of entry and tracking down supply + distribution networks. We need to bring FOBS close to the border to the areas the cartels are crossing (ie: Arivaca/Sasabe area). Also, we must work with authorities in Mexico to stop fentanyl-related chemicals from coming through their maritime ports via China. Naloxone should be more widely available as well to prevent overdoses.
We must give people a pathway off of drug addiction as well. Our resources are poor and at all levels of government there has been an eerie silence concerning the ongoing crisis. I would work directly with municipal, county, state, tribal, and federal departments in order to develop localized and effective solutions to get people off of drugs and rehabilitated into society.
Further resources:
https://www.dea.gov/fentanylawareness
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2022/10/california-fentanyl-overdose-crisis-treatment/
