CINCINNATI — Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) was in Cincinnati Monday celebrating the passage of his FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which was part of a larger bill signed into law last month.
The FEND Off Fentanyl Act declares fentanyl trafficking a national emergency and adds new sanctions on the leaders of drug trafficking organizations. It also gives the U.S. Treasury Department more power to combat fentanyl-related money laundering.
“If there’s not profit in this or if you can squeeze them — federal agents putting the heat on them and squeezing their profits, there’ll be a lot less of this stuff coming in," Brown said.
In Hamilton County the number of overdose deaths has been decreasing for the last two years, according to a report from the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition. Brown hopes this legislation will continue the downward trend, not just in Hamilton County, but across the country.
In an event Monday, Brown also celebrated the work of local law enforcement, the Hamilton County Quick Response Team and Talbert House.
Talbert House offers substance use disorder treatment programs, including residential and outpatient programs.
“We’re in the business of saving lives, you know one life at a time, right? And so this legislation is important because we really want to decrease the amount of fentanyl that’s getting into our community," said Kamaria Tyehimba with Talbert House.
Brown said the country needs more places like Talbert House to address the fentanyl crisis.
“We don’t treat mental illness in this country and addiction as important as it is," Brown said.
He said that's one step the country needs to take, but it also needs to reduce the amount of illegal drugs coming through the border.
