Senator Marshall to Take Kansas Sheriffs to Southern Border Amid Title 42 Expiration and Fentanyl Crisis in Kansas

In the past 14 months, more than 12,000lbs of fentanyl-related substances were seized from criminals at the southern border – much more made it over the border undetected.

(Washington, D.C., May 16, 2022) – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. and five Kansas Sheriffs will travel to the Southern Border on Thursday, May 19^th for briefings, tours, and meetings with border patrol officials, within DHS and the state of Texas. The trip comes amid the pending expiration of Title 42 and the growing fentanyl crisis that is wreaking havoc in Kansas and across the nation.

In the past 14 months, more than 12,000lbs of fentanyl-related substances were seized from criminals at the southern border – much more made it over the border undetected. Additionally, overdose deaths from fentanyl-related substances topped all other drug-related overdose deaths in Kansas in 2021. Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden, Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill, Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan, Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards, and Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse will travel with Senator Marshall.

“It is simply unacceptable – in fact, it’s a dereliction of duty – that Joe Biden continues to maintain his open borders policies that have in turn enabled criminals to bring fentanyl into our state and poison Kansans at record rates. I look forward to traveling down to the southern border with these heroic sheriffs so we can continue to bring awareness and solutions to the crisis that has turned Kansas into a border state,” said Senator Marshall. “The crisis at our southern border is our biggest, most immediate national security threat. With fentanyl pouring across the border, this has turned into a public health crisis as well. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug our country has ever seen and is effecting Kansans at record rates. With just one teaspoon of fentanyl having the ability to kill thousands of people and a deadly amount being able to fit on the tip of a pencil, we must do everything in our power to stop this terrible scourge.”

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Background:

Senator Marshall recently announced support for the HALT Fentanyl Act. The legislation would permanently give law enforcement the tools to help combat the fentanyl crisis currently wreaking havoc in Kansas. The legislation permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. A Schedule I controlled substance is a drug, substance, or chemical that has a high potential for abuse; has no currently accepted medical value; and is subject to regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act. Fentanyl-related substances’ current Schedule I classification is temporary and set to expire later this year.

• Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine.
• Kansas suffered a 54% increase in drug overdoses during the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.
• Of the 338 people in Kansas who died of drug overdose between Jan. 1 and June 30 of last year – 149 involved fentanyl or fentanyl analogs.
• Overdose deaths from fentanyl-related substances topped all other drug-related overdose deaths in Kansas in 2021
• In the first three months of 2022, Kansas saw more than 2,500 drug overdoses.
• While not on the Kansas side, the Kansas City Police Department announced that accidental overdoses from fentanyl-related substances had climbed nearly 150% from 2019 to 2020 in the metro area, particularly noticeable among ages 15 to 24. Last year, out of 129 overdoses, 50 were fentanyl-related.
• In March, Wichita officers seized 7,000 fentanyl-related substance pills during a traffic stop.
• The Wichita Police Department also said that they recently worked five suspected overdose cases in a 24-hour period – two of those were juveniles.
• Nationwide, four in 10 pills examined by DEA labs contain a deadly amount of fentanyl-related substance, an amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil.
• In the past 14 months, more than 12,000lbs of fentanyl-related substances were seized from these criminals at the southern border – much more made it over the border undetected.
• 15,000lbs of fentanyl-related substances were seized in 2021 – enough to supply a potentially lethal dose to every member of the U.S. population.
• 64% of overdose deaths in the U.S. involved synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl-related substances.
• 4 out of 10 DEA-tested fake pills with fentanyl-related substances contain a potentially deadly dose.
• 12 month period ending in October 2021: 105,000 overdose deaths – 66% were due to fentanyl-related substances, synthetic opioids.

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