Anti-fentanyl trafficking bill awaits signature

A bill aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl into the United States is awaiting the president’s signature.

Just before Christmas, the Senate passed the INTERDICT Act, which would equip Customs and Border Protection with scanning devices and other technologies to detect synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

Companion legislation passed the House of Representatives in October.

According for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 42,000 opioid-related deaths in the U.S. in 2016. Ohio had 4,050 drug overdose deaths that year and more than half involved fentanyl.

China is the primary source of fentanyl coming into the United States and much of it is sent to Mexico before it makes its way into the U.S.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, was among the sponsors of the bipartisan bill.

“Ohioans are dying from overdoses at the second highest rate in the country,” Brown said in a statement. Families are being torn apart. Children are losing parents. Parents are losing sons and daughters. And we know fentanyl is one of the main culprits. I urge President Trump to sign our bipartisan bill into law immediately, so we can give law enforcement the tools they need to keep this drug out of Ohio and off our streets.”

In a phone conference with reporters in March, Brown said CBP has had success in detecting these drugs with “high-tech” chemical screening devices. But Brown said the agency does not have enough screening equipment to cover all ports of entry or enough scientists and lab support to interpret the results.

The bill would authorize $15 million for hundreds of new screening devices and lab equipment as well as facilities and personnel for “24/7 lab support.”