Dear Friends,
Across Arkansas, heartbroken families have told me their stories about how the opioid crisis has claimed the lives of their loved ones. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2018, more than 130 Americans lost their lives to opioid overdose each day, and nearly half of these deaths were attributable to fentanyl.
Recently, I wrote to my colleagues, the Co-Chairs of the House Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force, to voice my concerns about the proliferation of the deadly drug fentanyl in the United States. Fentanyl is a growing threat to the safety of Arkansans. Though drug overdose deaths have decreased nationally, this trend has not held true in Arkansas. In fact, we have seen increased drug overdose deaths. Additionally, fentanyl-related deaths are on the rise. Fentanyl is moving alarmingly fast across our communities, and it is of utmost importance that this issue is dealt with swiftly and effectively.
This summer, I met Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland, the story of how the rapid spread of opioids set the stage for what we are now seeing with fentanyl. We talked about our shared concern for our vulnerable communities. Sam testified in 2018 before a Senate committee that fentanyl’s low-cost has led to drug dealers intentionally overdosing their clients as an advertisement to addicts that they have a potent product.
Unfortunately, despicable drug dealers have no sympathy for the carnage they cause to real human lives. I previously spoke with the mother of a young Arkansan who lost his life to a fentanyl-laced heroin overdose. His mother was told by police that they have heard drug dealers laughing about killing people with fentanyl on wiretaps during their investigations.
If this were not concerning enough, it has been reported by Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, that fentanyl is being used to lace drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Action must be taken.
Legislation is one option for combating the scourge of fentanyl in the United States. Working with my House colleague, Congressman Max Rose (D-NY), I introduced the Fentanyl Sanctions Act which imposes sanctions on bad actors in China, willingly providing synthetic opioids to drug traffickers, and on the financial institutions assisting these bad actors. It also provides additional funding to local law enforcement, like central Arkansas’s sheriffs and federal intelligence agencies, to combat opioid trafficking.
We are working hard to tackle the opioid crisis at the federal level, but this is an issue that requires a comprehensive response. We need similar commitments from state and local governments, medical professionals, as well as engagement from those that are intimately familiar with the issue – the public.
Here in Arkansas, state Drug Director Kirk Lane (pictured below) is working hard to keep Arkansans safe, and has been working with Arkansas Drug Take Back on an app called “NARCANsas.” It is a free opioid overdose app containing resources, links, and tools that will help you administer the opioid reversal medication, naloxone, in the moment of an overdose.
Additionally, if you need professional lifesaving assistance for someone who is overdosing, you can call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
If you have friends or family that you suspect are using illegal drugs or may be abusing opioid prescriptions, I encourage you talk to them about treatment options and to obtain naloxone. No one wants to see a loved one overdose, but as the Boy Scout motto states, Be Prepared.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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