Brown, Lima Leaders Discuss Brown's Law to Crack Down on Fentanyl Traffickers

LIMA, OH - Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), local medical professionals and community leaders from Allen County, discussed the year-long effort to get his legislation to crack down on fentanyl traffickers in China and Mexico signed into law. The FEND Off Fentanyl Actwas signed into law earlier this year.

Brown's legislation is a sanctions and anti-money laundering bill aimed at combating the country's fentanyl crisis and saving lives in Ohio by targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that transport the drugs in from Mexico. Senator Brown worked with law enforcement to craft the legislation, and national and Ohio law enforcementpraised the bill's passage.

The prevalence of dangerous forms of fentanyl, often mixed with other substances, is a serious public health threat to Ohio communities. In 2022, fentanyl was involved in 80% of unintentional drug overdose deaths in Ohio.

"Local law enforcement, first responders, and prosecutors encounter fentanyl far too often. We worked with them and with national law enforcement to write this bill to help stop fentanyl at the source, before it ever reaches our communities. We built a broad, bipartisan coalition to get this vital legislation passed, and after a year of work, we got it done. This will allow us to target the entire fentanyl supply chain, from the chemical suppliers in China to the cartels that traffic the drug from Mexico," said Brown.

"This event is important to remind the community, state, and nation that the fight against opiates is still happening and is very real. We are thankful to Senator Brown for championing this cause and enacting this much needed legislation into law," said Marcell King, COO, Lima Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program.

"Our healthcare workers see the negative impact that the opioid epidemic has on patients and their loved ones every day. That pain and suffering has been exacerbated with the increased prevalence of Fentanyl in our communities. We applaud Senator Brown's efforts to protect our friends and loved ones," said Jacob Stabler, Program Manager for Bon Secours Mercy Health, Behavioral Health Service Line.

"We know that treatment for substance use disorders work. Potent substances like fentanyl put individuals at risk for overdose, potentially through unknowingly becoming exposed or before having the opportunity to receive treatment. Efforts like Fend Off Fentanyl Act provide another layer of support in decreasing the exposure to this dangerous substance and in turn, saving lives," said Katie Walker,MSOD, BA, LCDC III, Clinical Director, Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin

Background:

The FEND Off Fentanyl Act is a sanctions and anti-money laundering law to help combat the country's fentanyl crisis by targeting opioid traffickers devastating Ohio communities. The law enhances current law so U.S. government agencies can more effectively disrupt illicit opioid supply chains and penalize those facilitating the trafficking of fentanyl. The law also ensures that sanctions are imposed not only on the illicit drug trade, but also on the money laundering that makes it profitable.

Specifically, the law:

• Declares that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.

• Requires the President to sanction transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels' key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking.

• Enables the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts.

• Enhances the ability to enforce sanctions violations thereby making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted.

• Requires the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids.

• Allows the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.

• Requires the Treasury Department to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions and include descriptions of drug cartels' financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports.

More information about the law can be found here, bill text can be found here.

Senator Brown's Work to Combat Fentanyl:

Brown has a long history of leadership in fighting to stop the flow of fentanyl into Ohio's communities. In addition to his bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which imposes new sanctions and anti-money laundering penalties targeting the illicit fentanyl supply chain, Brown also is pushing to pass his bipartisan Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act. The POWER Act would establish a new grant program through the U.S. Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement organizations secure high-tech, portable drug screening devices. This legislation builds off Brown's INTERDICT Act, which President Trump signed into law and which provides U.S. Customs and Border Protection with high-tech screening equipment and lab resources to detect fentanyl before it enters the U.S.

Brown introduced the bipartisan Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act which would allow state and local governments to purchase containment devices to safely store dangerous drugs and preserve them for evidentiary use, and provide first responders training to reduce their risk of secondary exposure to lethal substances. This work builds on his bipartisan PREVENT Act, which provides drug evidentiary containment devices for Border Patrol Officers and became law in 2022. He has also introduced the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act, which would increase staffing and technology to detect illicit drugs and other contraband being smuggled through ports of entry or at illegal crossings along the border.

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