Customs and Border Patrol seizures of synthetic fentanyl have skyrocketed, but the true concern are the drugs that make it across the border.
Only a few years ago, no one had heard of fentanyl. But with tens of thousands of pounds worth of the drug pouring across the border resulting in hundreds of thousands of overdoses, the lethal drug is now a household name and Georgia lawmakers have taken radical steps to save lives.
House Bill 1035 and Senate Bill 395, both passed nearly unanimously in the General Assembly and signed by Governor Brian Kemp, completely rewrote the book on Georgia’s rules regarding the sale and distribution of opioid antagonists like Narcan, making the nasal spray free and readily available across the state including in schools.
Fentanyl is a relatively cheap opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine and is mixed with other narcotics including opioids, cocaine and other more traditional drugs. Many users do not know they are ingesting fentanyl.
Such was likely the case of Mia Dieguez, a 15-year-old high school student in Dunwoody, GA, who died earlier this year while at school due to an accidental fentanyl overdose.
“It’s not an answer to addiction, but as long as someone is alive, you have a chance to get them into a program and to kick their opioid habit,” said Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper.
In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency set a new record in fentanyl seizures nationwide.
“In my 30 years as a customs official, the trafficking of synthetic illicit drugs like fentanyl is one of the toughest, most daunting challenges I have ever seen,” said Customs and Border Patrol Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy Miller.
Mexico and China remain the primary sources for fentanyl trafficked to the United States and 90% of all seizures nationwide happen along the southern border. The question remains, what about the vast amounts of fentanyl that continues to make it across the border? With millions of undocumented border crossings each year, the problem is not the fentanyl that is found. Rather the problem is the fentanyl that is not found and makes its way across the border and into the hands of unsuspecting Americans.
“Do you care precisely whether or not fentanyl is coming through ports of entry or between ports of entry when your family was directly impacted because fentanyl is flooding into our communities?” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
“Until we secure the border and protect Americans, we’re not going to be able to get to the bottom of the fentanyl problem,” said Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) at a May hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance. “Since President Biden took office, nearly 10 million illegal immigrants have flooded into our nation.… 77,000 pounds of fentanyl have been confiscated at the border over that time. You don’t know how much got through, but you can imagine just based on the statistics and the deaths, the number is high.”
