by Tom Joyce
Congressman David Schweikert, R-Arizona, was one of 116 Republicans in Congress to sign a letter uring President Joe Biden’s administration to address the country’s fentanyl problem.
The letter, sent to the administration on Feb. 10, urges the Biden administration to take action against the drug often made in China and enters the United States via the southern border. The letter urges the Biden administration to permanently classify fentanyl and related substances as Schedule 1 narcotics.
“Fentanyl is crossing our southern border at record levels, and with it has come tragedy for communities across the country,” Schweikert said in a press release. “In Arizona, this crisis has hit particularly hard, and the impact on our state has been devastating. To combat the fentanyl epidemic, we must give our law enforcement officers all the resources they need to take action and fight this harmful drug, and that starts by making fentanyl-related substances a permanent Schedule 1 classification.”
Currently, fentanyl-related substances fall under a temporarily classified Schedule 1 drug classification. However, this scheduling is temporary. The federal government is set to run out of funding on March 11, 2022. If that happens, then the Schedule 1 classification for fentanyl will expire with it. That means fentanyl would go back to being a Schedule 2 drug.
The letter notes that fentanyl is becoming far more common in the United States; it noted a 1,066% increase in fentanyl seized at eight Southern Texas ports during fiscal year 2021. It also blames the administration for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and failing to hold China accountable for its fentanyl production.
“Fentanyl kills more people age 18-45 than car accidents, suicide, or COVID-19,” Congressman Bryan Steil (R-Wisconsin) said in the press release. “We cannot stand by and watch as Americans are being killed by the flood of fentanyl-related substances coming into our country. It is past time for President Biden to take seriously the need to secure our border, and make permanent fentanyl-related substances Schedule 1 classification.”
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Tom Joyce contributes to The Center Square.
Photo “David Schweikert” by Rep. David Schweikert.
