Combatting The Fentanyl Crisis

Congressman Lamborn's Efforts

In The Community

On August 19, Congressman Lamborn hosted a back-to-school town hall on how to talk to kids about fentanyl. The chiefs of police, the undersheriff, the coroner, and the District Attorney of El Paso County discussed important information regarding fentanyl and overdose prevention with community academic leaders.

Watch the discussion here.

Officials hold back-to-school town hall on talking to kids about fentanyl
Back to School: Talking to kids about fentanyl
Colorado leaders host round table discussion on talking to your kids about fentanyl
Doug Lamborn and other community leaders hold public town hall on fentanyl

Congressman Lamborn attends an opioid roundtable

On May 4th, 2022, Congressman Lamborn met with law enforcement and medical professionals to discuss the ongoing fentanyl crisis affecting the Pikes Peak Region.

"There is so much danger out there for young people or anyone for that matter, to take drugs that they think is one thing, and it's actually laced with fentanyl," said Rep. Lamborn. "It's much more powerful and it injures or kills that person. So there is an awareness that we need to be promoting.”

Congressman Lamborn and El Paso County undersheriff hold fentanyl roundtable discussion

Leaders gather in Colorado Springs for fentanyl roundtable discussion

El Paso County law enforcement, county officials discuss fentanyl crisis

Legislative Action

As part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations bill, Congressman Lamborn supported the inclusion of:
- $14.8 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is $25.7 million above President Biden’s requested amount.
  - This increase will allow CBP to hire additional Border Patrol Agents, purchase technology to screen incoming cargo vehicles, and improve processing.
- $8.26 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is $284.7 million above the FY2021 enacted level and $266.7 million more than President Biden requested.
  - The funding included in this package will allow ICE to better investigate transnational crime, including illicit fentanyl trafficking at our southern border.

Congressman Lamborn is a cosponsor of the Halt Fentanyl Act (H.R. 6184):
- H.R. 6184 would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs
- Currently, fentanyl-related substances are subject to only temporary scheduling, which would expire in February 2022. Permanent scheduling properly recognizes the harm fentanyl analogues have caused and could continue to inflict.
- The legislation also removes barriers that impede the ability of researchers to conduct studies on these substances and allows for exemptions if such research provides evidence that it would be beneficial for specific analogs to be classified differently than Schedule I, such as for medical purposes.

Congressman Lamborn is a cosponsor of the Fentanyl Penalties Parity Act (H.R. 5694):
- Currently, to trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence under the Controlled Substances Act, an offense must involve 400 or more grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl. Because the average lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 milligrams, the offense would need to contain roughly 200,000 lethal doses in order to trigger the 10-year mandatory minimum.
  - By comparison, to trigger the 10-year mandatory minimum for heroin, the offense would have to involve at least 1 kilogram, which contains roughly 10,000 lethal doses.
- This bill corrects the discrepancy between fentanyl and other drugs by reducing the threshold for mandatory minimum penalties for fentanyl-related offenses. Specifically, the bill:
  - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to reduce the 10-year mandatory minimum threshold for fentanyl offenses from 400 grams to 20 grams and fentanyl analogue offenses from 10 grams to 5 grams
  - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to reduce the 5-year mandatory minimum threshold for fentanyl offenses from 40 grams to 2 grams and fentanyl analogue offenses from 10 grams to 0.5 grams
  - Clarifies that fentanyl analogues can include both scheduled and unscheduled.

Congressman Lamborn has supported multiple letters to the Biden Administration regarding the synthetic opioid epidemic that continues to plague the United States and the detrimental impact of lifting Title 42 on May 23rd will have.
- By reversing Title 42, it invites the opportunity for more drugs, more criminals, and an added strain for our already overwhelmed border patrol agents.

Congressman Lamborn sent a letter with Rep. Hern to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to resign from his position in President Biden’s Cabinet following a year of crisis and failure at our Southern border, putting millions of Americans in danger.
- Under Mayorkas’ leadership, the Remain in Mexico Policy is being largely ignored, despite court orders to restore the program. Border apprehensions have more than tripled over FY 2020, while deportations have dropped by 70%. Additionally, FY 2021 saw over 100,000 fentanyl overdose deaths, the first time that many have been recorded in a single year. Border agents apprehended over 11,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border in FY 2021.

Information and Resources

The Opioid Epidemic

Data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics indicate there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2021, an increase of nearly 15% from the 93,655 deaths estimated in 2020. Overdoses are now the leading cause of preventable death among people ages 18 to 45.

Many opioid-involved overdose deaths also include other drugs and there has been a significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly those involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The market for illicitly manufactured fentanyl continues to change, and it can be found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, and cocaine.

The Fentanyl Crisis

Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, approved for treating severe pain, typically advanced cancer pain. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. It is prescribed in the form of transdermal patches or lozenges and can be diverted for misuse and abuse in the United States.

However, most recent cases of fentanyl-related harm, overdose, and death in the U.S. are linked to illegally made fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured in foreign clandestine labs and smuggled into the United States through Mexico, is being distributed across the country and sold on the illegal drug market.

It is often mixed with heroin and/or cocaine as a combination product—with or without the user’s knowledge—to increase its euphoric effects.

There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl. Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.

Producing illicit fentanyl is not an exact science. Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage. DEA analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet.

Rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased over 56% from 2019 to 2020.

Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids in 2020 were 18 times over the number in 2013

Fentanyl in Schools

A recent study found that fentanyl-related deaths among adolescents increased from 253 in 2019 to 680 in 2020. In 2021, 77% of all teen overdose deaths involved fentanyl.

Teenagers are being exposed to fentanyl through counterfeit versions of medications like oxycodone (Percocet, Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and benzodiazepines. They often end up buying fake pills that look like the commonly used prescription medications but are contaminated with fentanyl. It is estimated that at least one third of those illicitly manufactured pills are contaminated with fentanyl.

Drug dealers are increasingly relying on social media to target teens and sell both illicit and counterfeit prescription drugs. Over a two month span in 2021, the DEA identified 76 cases that involved drug traffickers that used emojis and code words to advertise drugs on social media apps and other platforms used to sell items online.

What are common street names? Common street names include: • Apache, China Girl, China Town, Dance Fever, Friend, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Jackpot, King Ivory, Murder 8, and Tango & Cash.

What does it look like? Fentanyl pharmaceutical products are currently available in the following dosage forms: oral transmucosal lozenges commonly referred to as fentanyl “lollipops” (Actiq®), effervescent buccal tablets (Fentora®), sublingual tablets (Abstral®), sublingual sprays (Subsys®), nasal sprays (Lazanda®), transdermal patches (Duragesic®), and injectable formulations. Clandestinely produced fentanyl is encountered either as a powder or in counterfeit tablets and is sold alone or in combination with other drugs such as heroin or cocaine.

Common drug codes indentifed by the DEA:

How to Recognize an Overdose

If you aren’t sure, it is best to treat the situation like an overdose.. Call 911 or seek medical care for the individual. Do not leave the person alone. Signs of an overdose may include: