The Senate passed the "FEND Off Fentanyl Act" last month as part of a national security package, but Gillibrand says it has since stalled in the House. Speaking at the county Law Enforcement Center in Poughkeepsie, the Democrat urged New York’s Congressional delegation to push the bill through.
“It is outrageous that they are not responding to the cries and pleas of their constituents in New York who are desperate to hold these criminal networks accountable," said Gillibrand.
Among those who joined Gillibrand Saturday were Congressman Pat Ryan, State Senator Rob Rolison, Assemblymembers Jonathan Jacobson and Didi Barrett, and Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that, according to the CDC, is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. A single dose can be lethal, and when mixed with other drugs illegally sold on the street, fentanyl becomes undetectable by taste, smell, or sight — meaning many people who die of fentanyl-related overdoses aren’t fully aware of what they’re taking. Of the 106 opioid overdose deaths in Dutchess County in 2022, the county says 98 of them involved fentanyl.
"Fentanyl is everywhere, and it is killing our communities," says Serino.
Timothy Doyle, director of Timothy P. Doyle Funeral Home in Poughkeepsie, says he’s seen firsthand how fentanyl can shatter families. In November 2021, his son, Sean, lost a long battle with addiction when he acquired drugs laced with fentanyl. Doyle says the coroner found so much fentanyl in Sean’s system that he believes Sean was killed instantaneously. He was 34.
"We see this every single day in our businesses," notes Doyle. "I have a young lady that passed away [in the] last couple of days, and this morning I was doing the paperwork. And what did she die of? Fentanyl intoxication.”
Gillibrand says the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 386 million illegal doses of fentanyl across the U.S. last year. In February, authorities in New York busted a ghost gun and drug trafficking network in LaGrangeville involving more than 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.
The FEND Off Fentanyl Act would specifically declare a national emergency over the international trafficking of fentanyl, and require President Biden to sanction key members of drug cartels responsible for illegally bringing the drug into the U.S. (The DEA says the majority of illegal fentanyl is made with chemical supplies from China, and manufactured in Mexico). The bill would also allow the Treasury Department to implement special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering, and give the proceeds from property in the U.S. forfeited by cartel members to law enforcement.
“It’s time to crack down on the criminal drug networks that do what they do for profit," says Gillibrand.
Meantime, Michael Balles, director of the Council on Addiction Prevention & Education of Dutchess County, says it’s important for individuals to acquire and get trained in administering the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone, also called Narcan. Just like CPR, he says you never know when you might come across someone who needs help.
“It can be effective. What I’ve seen from my own personal experiences, and also from other professionals working in the field: no longer is it one Narcan that can work. A lot of times it’s two, three, four doses of Narcan," Balles advises. "So, they’re even putting more than one dose in a pack of Narcan now. It used to be one, now it’s two.”
The CDC says signs of an overdose include loss of consciousness, a limp body, constricted pupils, shallow breathing, choking, and clammy or discolored skin. Balles says anyone who finds a loved one unresponsive should call 911, lay them on their side, and administer Narcan if they suspect an opioid overdose — even if they’re not entirely sure. Narcan is safe to use even if a recipient is not experiencing an overdose.
