More Americans die each year from a drug overdose than Americans who died in the entirety of the Vietnam War. Many of these deaths are caused by a single pill containing a lethal dose of fentanyl, which is roughly equal to five grains of salt. We’re losing young people, teenagers, and young parents – people with bright lives ahead of them.
The fentanyl crisis is affecting South Dakota as well. Last year, police in Sioux Falls seized enough fentanyl to kill 2.5 million people. Law enforcement reports that cartels have a presence in our area. And the price of a single pill has dropped from $40 a few years ago to $5 per pill today, largely because of increasing supply.
Most of the fentanyl in our communities – including in South Dakota – is not manufactured in the United States. Securing the border is a critical step to stopping the flow of drugs. In just a few short weeks, President Trump has made significant progress on this front, dramatically slowing the flow of illegal crossings at the southern border. And with less chaos, Border Patrol can focus on the criminals, cartels, terrorists, and traffickers that used to try to hide behind the surges of illegal immigrants.
But there’s more work to do. That’s why the U.S. Senate recently passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would provide law enforcement with critical tools to combat fentanyl. This bill would permanently classify fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, empowering law enforcement to keep pace with the evolving threat of fentanyl that is driving drug overdoses in our country.
Until a few years ago, these fentanyl-related substances were generally classified as Schedule II substances, meaning they were less tightly regulated and violations carried lighter penalties. If a particular substance was moved up to Schedule I, cartels would just alter the chemical composition slightly to avoid a crackdown. But those drugs were no less deadly.
That ended in 2018 when President Trump temporarily classified all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.Congress has extended that temporary listing multiple times because it works. It’s time to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as what they are: the deadliest kind of drugs.
I’m grateful to the men and women in law enforcement and first responders who work every day to go after drug dealers and save lives. The HALT Fentanyl Act would provide law enforcement with critical tools to go after the people bringing into our country the fentanyl that is killing our fellow Americans, and I’m proud it’s one of the first bills passed under the new Republican majority.
