They are sobering statics – sharp rises in fentanyl related deaths across the Tri-Counties. Last year in Santa Barbara County, 115 overdose deaths were fentanyl-related, compared to 75 in 2021, and 32 in 2019. In San Luis Obispo County they’ve climbed from 9 in 2019, to 74 in 2021 – and Ventura County has seen a rise to 181 last year from 22 in 2017.
"It's an epidemic. This is a crisis," Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara told KCLU.
He is leading a bipartisan effort to tackle fentanyl trafficking and he says it’s crucial to cut off the supply chain before it reaches our communities.
"I think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle know we need to do something about this now," he said.
Carbajal (D-CA) along with Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are leading the bipartisan effort to direct increased federal attention to fentanyl trafficking by utilizing the tools of the Department of Defense (DoD) and involve Mexico as an active partner to combat the crisis and disrupt drug cartel and trafficking activity.
The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 proposes:
- Declaring fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels and smugglers,
- Directing the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with foreign nations,
- Requiring the Secretary of Defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military, and
- Addressing coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.
