President
Joe Biden
will announce during his
State of the Union
address a nationwide crackdown on the
fentanyl
epidemic that has continued to roar out of control under his administration.
“Under President Biden’s leadership, overdose deaths and poisonings have decreased for five months in a row, but these deaths remain unacceptably high and are primarily caused by fentanyl,” according to a White House
statement
ahead of the annual address Tuesday evening. ”In the State of the Union, the President will announce key actions the Administration to tackle this issue head on.”
The Biden administration will provide 123 new massive X-ray scanners at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border to detect drugs concealed in vehicles and trucks better, partner with private sector shipping companies to track incoming foreign packages and mail at U.S. inspection facilities better, and target parts of the global supply chain that facilitate the production and movement of ingredients used to make fentanyl.
The White House also intends to work with Congress to categorize fentanyl as the most egregious drug offense permanently, expand effective treatment options for those dependent on it, and roll out antidote drugs that can be used during an overdose to more communities.
‘POSITIVE TRENDS’: VP CLAIMS EARLY SUCCESS WITH BORDER STRATEGY
Biden first declared during his 2021 State of the Union address fentanyl was the reason for the acceleration in drug-related deaths.
Although fentanyl seizures at the nation’s borders made up slightly more than 5% of the 260,000 pounds of drugs seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in fiscal 2022, this particular illegal substance is highly lethal and often laced in counterfeit street drugs that users are not aware of at the time of consumption.
Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday during a press conference at the White House on immigration that the Biden administration was “concerned about what we have been seeing coming across” the border.
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“When it comes to transnational criminal organizations, we must attack every aspect of their business and ensure swift accountability for these activities,” Harris said. “That’s the work that our administration has been doing, including sanctioning those who do business with traffickers, freezing bank accounts and restricting traffickers access to the materials they use to produce their deadly drugs.”
