08.25.23

At National Tribal Opioid Summit, Cantwell Delivers Call to Action on Fentanyl Crisis

“Too many lives are being lost from this epidemic,” says Cantwell. “We need to take up the fight nationally and declare an emergency.”

TULALIP, WA – Wednesday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) delivered an address at the National Tribal Opioid Summit, a gathering of approximately 900 tribal leaders, health care workers, and first responders from across the country. 

In her remarks, Sen. Cantwell discussed the scope of the fentanyl crisis and the need for greater federal assistance for tribes -- and all of our nation's communities.

"Too many lives are being lost from this epidemic," said Sen. Cantwell. "And here in our state, people want us to take up a fight. We need to take up the fight nationally and declare an emergency. And that is why you have convened this summit, which is going to continue to help educate and make people aware of what we need to do."

Sen. Cantwell, who recently conducted the seventh of a series of fentanyl crisis roundtables across the State of Washington, noted that solutions being tried in Indian Country could serve as nationwide models.

"At one of the recent roundtables I heard about the great work of the Jamestown S'Klallam's healing clinic," said Sen. Cantwell. "That clinic, which opened in July of 2022, treats about 120 patients per day for opioid abuse in Sequim. It has been seeing an increase in about 10 to 15 new patients per month."

"It's hard to think about how to break the cycle of addiction. But having the flexibility and holistic treatment that Indian Country offers is a great place to start."

Sen. Cantwell has made nine stops on an ongoing listening tour across Washington state to hear from people on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis. In May, Sen. Cantwell hosted a fentanyl crisis roundtable discussion in Pierce County followed by a second roundtable discussion in Snohomish County in June; last month, she convened a roundtable in the Tri-Cities, a roundtable in downtown Seattle and a roundtable in Spokane; earlier this month, she convened roundtables in Vancouver and Port Angeles. This week, she hosted a fentanyl crisis roundtable in Walla Walla on Thursday, and hosted one in Yakima today.

Data released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the State of Washington experienced the single highest increase among U.S. states in reported drug overdose deaths from between March 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 25.39%. According to the CDC, 105,224 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in March 2023 – a figure that the CDC projects will increase with additional reporting – and a staggering 67% of overdose deaths in 2022 involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Last month, the Senate passed the FEND Off Fentanyl Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill, which Sen. Cantwell cosponsored, would enhance current law so U.S. government agencies can more effectively disrupt illicit opioid supply chains and penalize those facilitating the trafficking of fentanyl. It also declares international trafficking of fentanyl, and the precursors used to make it, a national emergency.

In May, Sen. Cantwell led a Commerce Committee markup of S. 1280, the TRANQ Research Act, to help combat the rise in illicit use of xylazine, also known as tranq, which is a new dimension to the fentanyl crisis. It directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to take steps to enhance understanding of xylazine or tranq and other novel synthetic drugs, develop new tests for detection, and establish partnerships with front-line entities that are often the first points of contact with new street drugs. Sen. Cantwell is a cosponsor of that bipartisan bill, and also cosponsored similar bipartisan language to amend a bill that subsequently passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June.

Audio of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks is available HERE and a transcript HERE. Photos of Sen. Cantwell at the event are available HERE.

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