Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are demanding answers from the nation’s drug czar about what the federal government is doing to combat the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is an urgent public health threat,” Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., ranking Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Reps. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., wrote the Office of National Drug Control Policy in a letter made public Friday.
“Overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl are spreading across the country. Nonetheless, it remains unclear if key law enforcement and public health agencies have developed a strategic plan aimed at the fentanyl threat, particularly one that disrupts the illicit supply of fentanyl coming into the U.S.,” the letter stated.
The foursome wants to know where the synthetic drug it’s being produced, who is trafficking in it, how much entered the U.S. last year and how many deaths were associated with the drug last year.
The Drug Enforcement Administration reported that fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and five to 100 times more potent than heroin, leading to a spike in overdoses.
The committee previously conducted an investigation into the nation’s growing heroin and opioid problems.
