Schumer pushes high-tech devices to help combat opioid epidemic
ALBANY, N.Y. » At the Albany County Courthouse, U. S. Sen. Chuck Schumer renewed his push to pass the Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act.
According to Schumer, the bipartisan bill creates a new grant program through the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) which will help state and local law enforcement secure new high-tech, portable screening devices to quickly, effectively, and safely identify dangerous drugs like fentanyl in the field.
Schumer explained that the opioid crisis requires an allhands- on- deck and an all- of-theabove approach, especially in Albany County, which holds a HighIntensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) designation and expe- rienced over 80 opioid overdose deaths since 2016.
Schumer detailed how the POWER Act will give law enforcement the tools they need to address this deadly drug on the ground level.
Schumer was joined by Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple; Chief Eric Hawkins, Albany Police Department; Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
“It’s no secret that the opioid epidemic has ravaged communities in the Capital Region. As opioid-related deaths continue to rise in Albany County and across the region, it’s clearer than ever that the opioid epidemic not only rips families apart, it also puts our law enforcement officials at risk by exposing them to illegal and fatal substances such as fen-
tanyl,” Schumer said in a news release.
“And it’s up to us to do everything within our power, on a federal level, to protect the men and women who bravely put themselves in harm’s way every single day in order to protect us and to ensure the public safety of our communities by providing them with the proper resources to do their job. This bill and these screening devices will help keep law enforcement safe and allow them to work more efficiently while on the front lines fighting the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities,” Schumer added.
Schumer said the opioid epidemic has plagued the Capital Region in recent years. He explained that fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin, has quickly swept into Albany and the surrounding areas, exacerbating the opioid epidemic that is already devastating families in the Capital Region.
According to the New York State Department of Health, between 2016 and June of 2018, Albany County experienced 81 opioid overdose deaths and 3,375 admissions to chemical dependency programs.
Additionally, in the same timeframe, Rensselaer County experienced 37 opioid overdose deaths and 1,851 admissions into chemical dependency programs.
Saratoga County experienced 33 opioid overdose deaths and 1,445 admissions into chemical dependency programs.
Schumer explained that these overdoses are from both heroin, and heroin combined with fentanyl or fentanyl analogs, a lethal combination of drugs referred to as “Gray Death.”
Officials noted that although pharmaceutical fentanyl can be misused, most of the fentanyl being sold on the street is illicitly manufactured. While distributors in China are the principal source of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture the drug, as well as a source for finished-product illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, Mexico is the primary source of illicit fentanyl smuggled into the United States.
Fentanyl suppliers then use methods such as mislabeling shipments or concealing the drug inside legitimate goods in order to avoid law enforcement detection. Through July of 2018, U. S. Border Patrol seized nearly 340 pounds of fentanyl, almost double the 181 pounds of fentanyl that were seized in all of 2017.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between June 2017 and June 2018, a record 31,500 people in the United States died from synthetic opioid overdoses, excluding methadone. The labs that make these synthetic opioids take advantage of law enforcement officials’ limited capabilities to detect fentanyl.
Schumer added the drug is extremely lucrative for dealers and cartels, who can sell $3,000 to $5,000 in fentanyl purchased from a Chinese drug laboratory for up to $1.5 million on the street.
To address these challenges, Schumer will be joining Senators Sherrod Brown (D- OH), Rob Portman (R- OH), Cory Gardner (R- CO), and Thom Tillis (RNC) to reintroduce the bipartisan POWER ACT to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the tools to identify illicit drugs and prevent them from coming across the border.
Schumer, who noted how he has a history of working to get law enforcement the resources and equipment necessary to keep our communities safe, announced his support for the bi-partisan legislation.
Specifically, officials said the Schumer backed POWER Act would authorize $20 million to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to create a new grant program to help state and local law enforcement organizations secure hightech, portable screening devices – also known as interdiction devices - in order to better detect illicit fentanyl and protect field officers from exposure.
The devices can cost anywhere from $ 30,000 to $80,000 per unit, which makes them cost-prohibitive for local law enforcement agencies relying on already tight municipal budgets, according to the release.
Federal law enforcement officials have already deployed this drug scanning equipment to screen contraband smuggled into the United States at the border or through the mail.
For example, officials noted that when border officials encounter a suspicious substance, it can be difficult to detect the source of the illicit material and whether it poses a hazard to them.
In the face of this challenge, federal law enforcement agencies at U.S. ports of entry have had success with screening and determining illicit drugs, like fentanyl, with the help of these high-tech, handheld chemical screening devices.
According to Schumer, the POWER Act ensures that local law enforcement in communities in the Capital Region and beyond can also afford to obtain this same technology and portable chemical screening devices, in order to better interpret tests gathered from the field, and minimize agent’s exposure to dangerous substances.