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Sen. Marco Rubio and 13 other GOP senators are proposing legislation that would make dealing fentanyl linked to a death a felony punishable by life in prison or a death sentence upon conviction.
“Fentanyl is killing Americans at a record high,” Rubio, R-Fla., said in a prepared statement. “This deadly drug is widespread throughout our country and has left no community untouched. This bill would make drug dealers pay the price for selling deadly fentanyl.”
If passed and signed into law, the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act, would make distribution of fentanyl that results in a person’s death a felony murder punishable by either death or life in prison.
Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for adults ages 18 to 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2020, fentanyl was involved in 75% of the 91,799 fatal drug overdoses in America. The number of fentanyl-related deaths is expected to increase with the influx of fentanyl entering the country across the U.S.-Mexico border.
In fiscal year 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 2,800 pounds of fentanyl. During fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30, CBP had seized 12,900 pounds of fentanyl through August.
Already this month, authorities seized 22 pounds of fentanyl from a home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, enough of the drug to kill 5 million people, Fox News reported. Authorities also seized more than 4 pounds of fentanyl in Tarrant County, Texas.
In Mankato, Minnesota, police on Sept. 16 seized “rainbow” fentanyl pills, which look like candy. The pills were the first of their kind ever seized in Minnesota, KEYC News reported.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., is one of 13 GOP senators to join Rubio last week in introducing the bill to make distribution of deadly fentanyl a felony.
“Fentanyl is killing young Hoosiers and cutting a path of destruction through the Midwest,” Braun said in a prepared statement. “If you are peddling this poison, you should pay the price.”
Republicans repeatedly have raised concerns that the crisis of illegal immigration at the southern border allows drug traffickers the freedom to enter the U.S. illegally and distribute fentanyl and other drugs across the country.
“A wide-open southern border has fueled a fentanyl epidemic in this country,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a written statement about her support for the bill.
“The dealers and distributors of this deadly drug must be held accountable, and that’s what we’re fighting to do,” Ernst said.
Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, said that “too many parents have lost their children to fentanyl poisoning and yet this administration won’t pursue the correct solution of securing the border.” (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s multimedia news organization.)
“Fentanyl is a public health crisis,” Ries told The Daily Signal, adding:
To end it, Congress and the Biden administration need to completely secure the border. The current administration’s approach just throws money at treatment and rehabilitation, but that only chases the problem. Prevention is the best and most thorough solution because it saves lives.
Article cross-posted from Daily Signal.
‘Merely Coincidental’: Secular Scientist Work Overtime to Explain Away the Miracles of Christ
by Harbingers Daily
Was the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish a little less than miraculous? Well, that’s what a group of scientists are claiming in a recent paper published in a scientific journal. Instead of a supernatural provision by the Lord, they claim the feeding…
Google Hosts Party for Democratic Operatives Plotting To ‘Resist the Republican Agenda’
by Free Beacon
The resistance’s bar tab is on Google. Priorities USA, a top Democratic super PAC with an affiliated dark money group, is convening a summit of left-wing digital activists on Wednesday afternoon to deliver a post-mortem on Vice President Kamala Harris’s election loss and strategize how to “resist the Republican agenda,”…
“The Correction Before the Surge”: Why Gold and Silver’s Future Is Brighter Than Ever
by Sponsored Post
It was long overdue by most estimates. Precious metals prices have been steadily rising for far longer than even the …
Ukraine Denies Reports From Think Tank That It Is Months Away From Developing a Nuclear Weapon
by Natural News
Ukraine has denied reports suggesting it could develop a nuclear weapon soon, following claims by a Ukrainian military think tank. The report, published by the Ukrainian think tank and nongovernmental organization the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, claimed that Kyiv could use spent nuclear fuel from its remaining…
Alex Jones Reveals Elon Musk Saved Infowars From Being Sold to The Onion
by End Times Headlines
Alex Jones has declared ‘the cavalry is here’ as attorneys for Elon Musk’s X jumped in to help put a temporary pause on the sale of his controversial Infowars to The Onion. The satirical news publication said the bid was sanctioned by the families of Sandy Hook Elementary victims who…
FBI Whistleblower Says FBI Intentionally Blocking Security Clearances for Trump Officials
by The Conservative Treehouse
It should not come as a surprise to see the same methods deployed against President Trump in 2024 that were used by the FBI in 2016. The difference is now that President Trump understands the full power of his office in the security clearance process and that he doesn’t need…
Pastor Greg Locke Burns Voodoo Doll He Claims Was Found on His Property
by End Times Headlines
Even amid ongoing warfare, we are called to stand firm on the Word of God. Pastor Greg Locke knows well the spiritual and physical attacks directed at him; he was recently targeted by a gunman. Now, he faces another spiritual assault, this time from someone attempting to place a curse…
Trump’s Incoming FCC Chief Already Putting Target on Big Tech ‘Censorship Cartel’
by WND
Social media companies have become a “cartel” for suppressing information with which they disagree, and that agenda now is going to be getting the attention of Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It was social media companies who played a role…
Sabotage: Two Undersea Internet Cables Connecting Four NATO Nations Were Severed
by Publius
Many in the international community are claiming sabotage as the only viable explanation for two fiber optic internet cables in the Baltic Sea being severed less than 24-hours apart. Fingers are being pointed at Russia as one of the the cables connected NATO nations Germany and Finland. The latter was…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Orders Democrats to Immediately End Counting of Illegal Ballots
by Infowars
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday ordered Democrats in several counties to immediately halt their unlawful counting of illegal ballots in the Senate race recount. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ruled before the election that mail-in ballots lacking formally required signatures or dates should not be included in official results….
22-Year-Old Woman With Depression Was Almost Euthanized, She Changed Her Mind Right Before She Was Killed
by Life News
Why do you oppose euthanasia, Wesley? If people want to die, we should help them die. No. And here’s an individual example explaining just one reason why. A deeply depressed woman was about to be lethally injected in the Netherlands — but changed her mind just in the nick of…
“Massive Breach”: T-Mobile Network Hacked by Chinese State Sponsored Intelligence
by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
(Zero Hedge)—Where’s John Legere in a pink t-shirt when you need him? Among the multiple stories over the last few weeks about Chinese intelligence and hackers either attempting to, or outright gaining access, to U.S. cell phone networks (with reports stating President Trump and his team were targeted), comes news…
Trump’s Idea to Shut Down Department of Education Gets High Five From Top Christian Evangelist
by WND
A priority for the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is to tackle the Deep State, the bureaucracy in Washington that is a self-perpetuating industry, to find what American taxpayers don’t need or want. And get rid of it. One of the targets he’s already identified is the Department of…
Experts Sound Alarm Over ‘Shocking’ Spike in Strokes Among ‘Healthy’ Young People
by Slay News
Health experts have issued a chilling warning to the public over a “shocking” spike in strokes among “healthy” young people. The “alarming” surge was identified in official UK government data. The data shows that recorded cases of deadly strokes skyrocketed in 2023 and continued soaring this year. In 2023/24, the…
