Curtail international mail’s role in opioid crisis

With Ohio at the center of America’s opioid crisis, seemingly all the stops are being pulled out at the state level to address this epidemic. An important and often overlooked area where the federal government can step in is to more vigorously scrutinize international mail. And to get there, new legislation is needed.

It is especially difficult for law enforcement to interdict and control the supply of opioids. Drug dealers and users alike can replenish their suppliers cheaply and easily using the Internet and international mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Highly potent quantities fit in small envelopes.

The problem is so serious that the congressionally chartered U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission reported in February, “Chemical flows from China have helped fuel a fentanyl crisis in the United States, with significant increases in U.S. opioid overdoses, deaths and addiction rates reoccurring over the last several years.” India is also frequently cited as a primary source for illicit fentanyl in the United States.

In Congress, a bipartisan measure, the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017, a.k.a. The STOP Act, would focus and tighten scrutiny on drugs in international mail shipments. Introduced by Ohio’s Sen. Rob Portman, supporters include fellow Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and a diverse group, such as Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The STOP Act would require shipments from foreign countries through the U. S. Postal Service to be preceded with electronic data — including who and where it is coming from, who it is going to, where it is going and what is in it, before it crosses the U. S. border. This information will enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 46 other federal agencies to better target potentially illegal packages containing dangerous drugs.

The Postal Service would be liable for financial penalties for false or omitted information, including what is provided by foreign postal operators. Its shipments would also become subject to the same regulations, procedures and restrictions as those of private, commercial carriers.

Among those supporting The STOP Act is the 330,000-member Fraternal Order of Police. In a Feb. 27 letter to Portman, Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury said, “Unlike packages entering the U.S. through private carriers — such as UPS or FedEx — the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not receive advance electronic customs data for the clear majority of foreign mail entering the United States Postal Service.”

He continues, “This legislation will close the loophole and allow CBP to effectively enforce customs laws that will stop the flow of deadly synthetic drugs in our communities …(it) will help prevent more synthetic drugs being trafficked in our communities.”

During Senate testimony on April 5, then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said that the information required by the STOP Act would help the CBP target illicit shipping of all kinds.

The Postal Service has been opposed to the measure, citing issues of cost, the potential suppression of much inbound international mail and the Postal Service’s own expanding use of Advanced Electronic Data.

The case for the STOP Act, though, is likely to accelerate soon, for several reasons. Reports of opioid deaths continue to rise sharply, and are already at staggering levels, with nearly 60,000 Americans dying from drug overdoses annually. There are an estimated 2.6 million opioid addicts in the U.S. In August, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that drug-overdose deaths rose 19 percent in the third quarter of 2016 (the latest period for which statistics are available), another sharp increase.

President Trump has indicated he is likely to formally declare a national emergency regarding drug addiction and opioid use. This could occur within weeks and put even more attention on the issue.

In addition, the presidential commission addressing this crisis will have a more detailed report soon, which will again intensify public focus on the issue. Among other recommendations, the commission already advocates, “Support federal legislation to stanch the flow of deadly synthetic opioids through the U.S. Postal Service.”

Given all this, the issue of opioids through the mail is likely to be a top concern to many policymakers soon.