Congress can’t punish Chinese drug dealers, but we can stem the flow of synthetic opioids

Opioids are now the greatest developing threat to our country, causing approximately 65,000 deaths each year. Deaths from vehicle crashes and gunfire are dwarfed by comparison. Nearly everyone in this country knows someone who has been impacted by this deadly scourge.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016, 116 people a day died from opioid-related drug overdoses. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that the Midwest saw opioid overdoses increase 70 percent from July 2016 through September 2017” and “[o]pioid overdoses in large cities increased by 54 percent in 16 states.”

While the origins of this epidemic stemmed from the abuse of prescription opioid pills, it has since morphed into a different threat for many Americans. A report from Vice News titled,“As The U.S. Focused on Painkillers, Fentanyl Caused a 30 Percent Spike in Overdoses,” summarizes recent findings from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It states, “That finding is starkly at odds with how the government — including the CDC itself — has tried to combat the opioid crisis thus far, by cracking down on doctors who prescribe opioids and making it much harder for people get access to pain medications.” This follows a recent announcement by the Attorney General “targeting opioid manufacturers and distributors who have contributed to the epidemic.”

But the federal government’s attempt to curtail the nation’s opioid plague by focusing solely on doctors and pharmaceutical companies alone is off-the-mark, if you believe the government’s own CDC data which points to fentanyl (and other synthetic opioids) being used to make counterfeit pills. It’s important to note that synthetics like fentanyl can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin.

A recent Washington Post article looked at a situation in Macon, Georgia – where dozens of people “flooded” a local emergency room after suffering from life threatening conditions caused by taking what they perceived to be prescription painkillers. In reality, the pills ingested by these unlucky individuals were counterfeits made of synthetic opioids by unscrupulous drug dealers.

According to the Post, “The rise of counterfeit pills is in part a consequence of well-intentioned actions taken to prevent overdose deaths; as states enact strict prescription limits and closely monitor doctors, fewer authentic painkillers are available. While some opioid abusers turn directly to heroin or fentanyl, the cartels and drug dealers are filling the void, and meeting demand, with pills they have manufactured to look like the originals.”

The article went on to point out that, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, that, [o]ne kilogram of illicit fentanyl — far cheaper than heroin or oxycodone — can produce 1 million counterfeit pills, netting $10 million to $20 million in revenue.” The combination of the high demand for pills by opioid addicts, plus gargantuan profits for drug dealers, is a recipe for disaster and one that is likely to keep getting worse.

Consider a Baltimore Sun article from last year, that began, “[i]n a laboratory somewhere in China, a chemist is producing the fentanyl that will kill an opioid user in Maryland.” The Sun continued, “From China — the largest producer of fentanyl worldwide — the drug is sent daily by plane or ship to Mexico, where traffickers and truckers push it along well-worn paths of illicit narcotics north to the United States. In Baltimore and other cities, well-established gangs push the powder and pills to consumers.”

The problem is, right now, there is little the federal government can do to punish these Chinese drug dealers. Last year, the Department of Justice indicted two Chinese nationals that it believed were responsible for flooding areas of North Dakota and Mississippi with fentanyl that killed at least four people. However, these individuals remain in China and the government there has not taken them into custody. In fact, the Chinese government is denying their role in the fentanyl crisis in America.

Thankfully, some members of Congress are taking action. Just last week, Republican Sens.Tom Cotton (Okla.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), John Kennedy (La.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Dean Heller (N.M.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) introduced legislation to strengthen penalties for fentanyl distribution and trafficking.

Because it is such a profitable business, stemming the flow of Chinese fentanyl crossing into the U.S. from our southern border will not be easy. As a Member of Congress, I represented about 700 miles of the Texas-Mexico border, so I understand just how difficult it is to police our massive border with Mexico.

But, my former colleagues in Congress, and the Administration, must realize that the current state of the opioid epidemic means that targeting fentanyl and other synthetic opioids must be a top priority. If we put a dent in this illicit trade route, we will save the lives of some American caught up in their terribly sad, and misfortunate addiction to opioids. In the meantime, thousands of American lives continue to hang in the balance.

Henry Bonilla was a Republican Member of Congress from south Texas (1993–2007). He is a lobbyist for The Normandy Group. During his time he Congress, he was the chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture and a senior member of the Subcommittee on Defense. In his role as chairman, Bonilla was responsible for funding America’s agriculture industry, food safety and inspection, the Food & Drug Administration and food distribution programs in foreign countries. In addition, Bonilla served on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.