A bill cracking down on the deadly opioid fentanyl is on its way to the white house to become law. Congressman Salud Carbajal and other local officials gathered outside the county’s government center on Tuesday to discuss the proposed legislation.
The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act seeks to designate the opioid as a national security threat.
Carbajal explained this designation would allow local law enforcement to collaborate with federal and Mexican agencies to stop cartels from trafficking Fentanyl into the US.
“Here on the Central Coast, our law enforcement are doing a lot of really good work, but there's fragmentation, sometimes, in getting all the agencies to work together better,” Carbajal said. “This is going to help in that regard.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl have surged over the past decade.
Meanwhile, San Luis Obispo County saw overdose deaths rise by nearly 30% from 2020 to 2021. According to the County Sheriff Coroner, 74 deaths in 2021 involved fentanyl.
Eric Dobroth, Assistant District Attorney for SLO County, predicts passing this bill could help keep the drug out of the region.
“If you reduce the supply, the reduced supply is more likely to go– and I hate to pass the buck– to more metropolitan areas, where the use of drugs is maybe more prevalent than it is in our small hamlet of San Luis Obispo County,” Dobroth said.
The bill awaits President Joe Biden's signature before officially becoming law.
