July 20, 2023 3:00 a.m.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden with a group of colleagues announced the inclusion of major anti-fentanyl legislation in the Senate’s annual defense bill that would impose new sanctions and cut off illicit fentanyl at the source.

Wyden said, “Despite diligent law enforcement work, overdoses and death from fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs in Oregon has continued unabated, and now its time to stop the trafficking of fentanyl at a major source: China”. Wyden said, “In a time where we are considering funding for our national defense, Congress must take timely, decisive action to defend Americans by stopping fentanyl and its precursors at the U.S. border before it can enter our communities”.

Wyden’s release said fentanyl is trafficked into the United States, primarily from China and Mexico and is responsible for the ongoing fentanyl epidemic.

In 2021, nearly 107,000 Americans died from an overdose. 65 percent of overdose deaths were caused by fentanyl. In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl – enough to supply a lethal dose to every American.

More information about the legislation and what Wyden believes would be its impacts are linked:  https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-announces-inclusion-of-anti-fentanyl-legislation-in-major-annual-defense-bill