Obama Official: US Streets Flooded With Heroin From Mexico
By Penny Starr. An official with the Obama administration said on Tuesday that the “streets are flooded with heroin” in the United States and much of it “is coming from Mexico.”
Mary Lou Leary, deputy director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), spoke at the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D.C. During a confence-workshop on heroin addiction and prevention, CNSNews.com asked Leary about the need to address border security and drug cartels to combat the opioid crisis.
“I think there’s another issue I’m sure that the chief really appreciates and that is, ‘Where is this heroin coming from?’” Leary said, noting fellow panelist, Pittsburgh Chief of Police Cameron McLay, who spoke about law enforcement’s role battling heroin.
Leary continued, “Our streets are flooded with heroin. It’s not domestically grown or produced. Much of this is coming from Mexico.”
“And so there’s another aspect to this, which is work that we do with ONDCP with our other federal partners, and that is working with federal law enforcement agencies that have jurisdiction beyond the U.S. borders, and also working with the government of Mexico,” Leary said. (Read more from “Obama Official: US Streets Flooded With Heroin From Mexico” HERE)
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Senate Advances Bill to Combat Prescription Opioid, Heroin Epidemic
By Tom Howell Jr. A Senate bill to address the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic advanced with bipartisan support Monday, clearing the way for final passage this week.
The chamber voted 86-3 to close off debate on the bill, which received wide support even after a funding dispute threatened to derail the effort.
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would help states monitor prescribing practices, expand the number of sites where parents can dispose of unneeded painkillers and distribute more naloxone — a treatment that can reverse the effects of an overdose — to law enforcement agencies and first responders, among other reforms.
It is particularly important to Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who faces re-election this year and wrote the legislation with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat.
Democrats fumed last week, however, when Republicans rejected their bid to attach $600 million in emergency funding to the bill. (Read more from “Senate Advances Bill to Combat Prescription Opioid, Heroin Epidemic” HERE)
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