Congressman David Trone speaks on fentanyl crisis, takes a tough stand on border security
Credit: WUSA (CBS)
Anchor Adam Longo:
America and its citizens are being decimated by Fentanyl. Over a one-year period from October of 2021 to 2022, 101,000 Americans died in drug overdoses. The vast majority, 80%, were related to fentanyl. For one local member of Congress, those conversation is personal. Ian Trone, nephew of Maryland Representative David Trone died in 2016 from a fentanyl overdose, he was only 24 years old. Congressman David Trone is with us, he has been a leader in Congress on issues dealing with mental health and substance abuse. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. You’ve introduced a bipartisan piece of legislation with Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska that would require Customs and Border Patrol to update their manuals every three years to identify ways to help drug and human smuggling. And number two, to require the CBP Commissioner to report changes made to those manuals to Congress. So, my first question is can you please draw a straight line for me between updating manuals and cutting the flow of fentanyl?
Rep. David Trone:
There’s actually two bills we put together just recently. The first was trying to get the CBP, Customs and Border Patrol into the most up-to-date methods to stop fentanyl transportation across the border. We get 200,000 cars a week. I did that with Congressman Michael Guest out of Mississippi. The second bill is modernizing the opioid treatment thing and that I did with Don Bacon, Republican Don Bacon, and that is a way we get methadone easier and a 28-day supply, versus forcing the person in recovery to come to a methadone treatment center every single day, six days a week, which averages almost 40 minutes a trip across the country. One thing is prevented if we just did, in the second thing is working on helping people more successfully deal with methadone.
Anchor Adam Longo:
On the manuals issue, there seems to be the implication that just not enough is happening at the border with Customs and Border Patrol that is allowing all of this fentanyl to come across from Mexico, so what are you seeing, what is your experience showing you about what is not happening at these border crossings?
Rep. David Trone:
What is not happening is we have absolutely zero cooperation from the Mexican government. You saw President Obrador of Mexico last week saying that this is not a Mexican problem, Mexico does not produce the fentanyl, which is a lie, they produce virtually 100% of the fentanyl through two major cartels, and it is all coming over through the border, largely driven by Americans paid for by the two major cartels. Customs and Border Patrol is handicapped greatly, as is the DEA, handicapped greatly by the lack of Mexican cooperation, which is virtually zero.
Anchor Adam Longo:
There was an opinion piece in the Post yesterday about the fentanyl crisis that addressed this. The writer said this, “I did not expect to see the presidential administrations of both men, [President Biden and the President of Mexico] wither into neglect and capitulation respectively on this issue with such catastrophic consequences.” You know President Biden, you have hosted him at your house, should his administration be doing more to combat this? Or are we putting this all on Mexico?
Rep. David Trone:
His administration has done more than anybody has ever done before on this topic, on the demand side with education, treatment, and rehabilitation. The president has put focus on how we deal with folks in America to help them get through this addiction crisis which has taken over one million lives, now, 100,000 some each year, 8% of those are fentanyl. The President like all of us is being stymied, with no cooperation from China on the precursors and nothing from President Obrador in Mexico.
Anchor Adam Longo:
Let’s talk about the State Department. You sent a letter to them, a bipartisan letter asking them to intervene and set up a travel advisory to Mexico. It is spring break, there’s a lot of people going down to Mexico, college students and other folks, within the next weeks. Is a travel advisory necessary? Is it going to protect the retirees going there not to look to get into any trouble, or does this only affect one small section of Americans?
Rep. David Trone:
This is really important because this is life and death. We’ve got 12 million tourists every year in Mexico, 12 million. There are pharmacies on every corner, restaurant, bar, pharmacy, repeat. Over and Over. They are selling these drugs over the counter, percocet, valium, adderall, oxycontin, oxycodone, and they do not have what you think is in those drugs. What is in all of those drugs, roughly 70% when tested, 70% was fentanyl or methadone. One pill of valium that came from the cartel that you buy in Mexico at that pharmacy, one pill of Adderall you buy in Mexico at that pharmacy during spring break, you are dead. You have got to remember that simply one pack of sweet and low, 500 deaths. That is how many that could die if it was fentanyl.
Anchor Adam Longo:
I read a story about a bust that could have affected 20% of the world’s population. I am sure this is the first of many conversations we will have because we have got to stop this. Thank you for your time.
