Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Illicit fentanyl is a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Rep. Boebert's op-ed was originally published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s also the leading cause of death for adults ages 18-45 and killed 71,238 Americans last year, including more than 900 Coloradans. Fentanyl smuggling doubled in 2021, and fentanyl poisoning deaths hit a record high, too. This drug, mostly imported from China and continuously smuggled through our southern border, is killing kids and destroying families throughout the country. Designating this catastrophic opioid a weapon of mass destruction isn’t radical, it’s necessary.

Fentanyl harms drug users, and it also harms first responders and good Samaritans who attempt to rescue overdose victims. Earlier this year, a police officer in Colorado was taken to the hospital after being exposed to fentanyl while searching a drug user’s car. The social and human cost of the fentanyl crisis cannot be overstated.

Here’s the saddest part about the fentanyl crisis: it’s totally preventable. Law enforcement experts know that the vast majority of illicit fentanyl is smuggled across the southern border. According to the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration, since Biden has taken office, enough fentanyl to kill every American 11 times over has been smuggled across the border. Sadly, the Biden administration has proven time and again that it is unwilling to secure the border.

In Congress, I introduced the “Secure the Southern Border Act” to reinstate President Trump’s successful border security policies, build the wall, end catch-and-release, restore the “remain in Mexico policy” and put a stop to the Biden regime’s amnesty madness.

We can dramatically reduce the deaths caused by fentanyl, but it’s going to take bold and decisive action to make that happen.

A good first step would be to list fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. Doing so would direct the Department of Homeland Security to allocate additional resources to combat this crisis. This designation would also increase interagency coordination between the Department of Defense, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal entities to stop the sale and flow of fentanyl. I introduced legislation to call fentanyl what it is: a weapon of mass destruction. My bill will deploy sensors to detect fentanyl and use analytical, data-based decision-making to support law enforcement on the ground. This additional support will assist our brave men and women of law enforcement who are on the front lines to interdict deadly fentanyl pouring into our communities.

Designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction aligns with best practices established by national security experts. In 2019, officials at the Department of Homeland Security recommended fentanyl be classified as a weapon of mass destruction. This designation would only target illicit use of fentanyl, and it would not interfere with legal, medical uses of the drug, as is standard in weapon of mass destruction classifications. For instance, botulinum toxin is classified as a weapon of mass destruction, but its legal form (Botox) is readily accessible in medical contexts.

Fentanyl is devastating every aspect of our society, so a whole-of-government approach is needed to combat it. Treating fentanyl like any other drug has failed. Too many Americans are dead because of failed policies that haven’t adequately addressed the fentanyl crisis. It is time for innovative thinking. Ask any American who has lost a family member to the fentanyl crisis and they will tell you: fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction wreaking chaos on our communities.

Enough is enough. It is time to call fentanyl what it is: a weapon of mass destruction.