Right here is ground zero for the opioid crisis

Which is why we have launched some of the most aggressive law enforcement initiatives in the nation here in Western Pennsylvania, reports U.S. attorney SCOTT W. BRADY

For communities across the country grappling with record numbers of drug overdoses, the fight against the opioid epidemic is literally a matter of life and death. It is a fight that we will win or lose based on what we do here at ground zero: in the towns and neighborhoods of Western Pennsylvania.

As we know, the numbers are staggering: 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016 alone, with 46,000 caused by opioids. This includes more than 4,600 Pennsylvanians, 3,900 from opioids. Thirteen Pennsylvanians per day. For Americans under the age of 50, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death. Millions of Americans struggle daily with opioid use disorder.

Sadly, Western Pennsylvania is home to 11 of the top 14 counties when it comes to opioid overdose death rates. Allegheny County ranked third nationally in overdose deaths from fentanyl — a substance 50 times more lethal than heroin. Half of all overdose deaths in Pennsylvania from carfentanil — 5,000 times more powerful than heroin — occurred in Western Pennsylvania.

These numbers, of course, represent real people — mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, spouses, friends and neighbors. I was raised in a small steel town in Mercer County, with a population of roughly 6,000. My town, like many in our region, has struggled economically since the 1980s, and its people now struggle with drug abuse and addiction.

I recently learned that a high school classmate had passed away. This wonderful, joy-filled woman had been injured and was prescribed opioids for pain management. Over time, she became addicted and, eventually, overdosed. She was 48 and left behind three beautiful young children, who now will grow up without their mother.

This epidemic is madness. It must stop. And this is why the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, which I head, is mobilizing all available resources to attack the opioid crisis. In fact, our office has been designated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to lead three new national opioid initiatives.

Our district is one of 10 “surge” districts nationally conducting Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) to prosecute as many fentanyl traffickers as our courts can handle. Mr. Sessions chose our office, in part, because of our aggressive stance towards overdose prosecutions: During the past three years, we have charged more drug dealers for distributing opioids resulting in death or serious injury than any other U.S. attorney’s office in Pennsylvania. These

charges carry heavy mandatory sentences and send a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the full consequences of their actions.

The second initiative relates to the sale of fentanyl in illegal marketplaces on the “dark web” or “darknet.” As dealers turn to the relative anonymity of the internet to sell drugs, our office is leading national efforts to combat online drug trafficking. Capitalizing on our office’s cybercrime expertise, a Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team was created in Pittsburgh, tasked with disrupting and prosecuting darknet marketplaces and opioid sales.

We are seeing results. Our office has brought charges against darknet fentanyl vendors nationwide, including one operating as “NarcoBoss” on the AlphaBay marketplace who caused dozens of overdose deaths across the country. Our efforts also helped dismantle an illegal fentanyl lab in Leeds, England.

Because opioid abuse often starts with misuse of prescriptions drugs, the third initiative addresses the diversion of prescription opioids by doctors and medical professionals. The Department of Justice created 12 specialized Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Units (OFADU) nationally, dedicated to the prosecution of crooked doctors, pharmacists and drug manufacturers. Once again, our office leads the way: This year alone, more than 17 doctors and medical professionals have been charged with the illegal diversion of prescription drugs.

We brought the first OFADU indictment in the country against a Pittsburgh physician for unlawfully prescribing oxycodone and hydrocodone, and obtained the first OFADU conviction in the country against a Pittsburgh radiologist who unlawfully prescribed Vicodin. We also have seized millions of dollars from these unscrupulous medical professionals and have worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration and state licensing authorities to suspend indicted doctors’ medical licenses and their DEA controlled-substance registrations. There is more to come.

This sustained focus on the opioid epidemic is beginning to have an impact. Last year, for instance, Washington and Beaver counties saw overdose deaths drop by 12 percent and 25 percent, respectively. But our work is far from done.

Winning the fight against opioids will require sustained and coordinated action by federal, state and local governments, together with prevention and treatment professionals, community leaders, nonprofit groups, religious organizations and the business community. Our office will work with anyone who shares our commitment.The stakes are too high to do otherwise.