Keystone Today

Overdose deaths in Pennsylvania and across the U.S. have increased dramatically in the last two years.

There were 107,622 overdose deaths in 2021, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed. Overdose deaths decreased in 2021 from 2019-2020, when they rose by 30%. Overdose deaths are primarily caused by opioids, specifically fentanyl, but also methamphetamine and cocaine. Fentanyl was the cause of approximately 80,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021.

 According to the Office of the Attorney General, drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania rose by 16.4% in 2020, and continued on that trend to reach 5,438 confirmed overdose deaths in 2021, another 6% increase from the prior year. In a press release last month, AG Josh Shapiro said, "Fentanyl has rapidly replaced heroin as the dominant opioid in Pennsylvania. Last year, our Bureau of Narcotics Investigation seized more fentanyl than they had in the last four years combined. The rise in fentanyl has also contributed to a rise in overdose deaths. Last year, we lost 15 Pennsylvanians each and every day to a drug overdose. Law enforcement and policymakers alike must continue to do more to combat this crisis and devote additional resources to stopping fentanyl at the Southern border.”

The Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) website published a news release on the August apprehension of $4.3 million worth of fentanyl in Gila Bend, Ariz., approximately 80 miles north of the border. Fentanyl seizures are a top priority for border patrol and police because just 2 milligrams can cause an overdose.

An August press release from the Southern District of California Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that San Diego is seeing the most fentanyl seizures. San Diego border patrol has seized 5,091 pounds of fentanyl, approximately 60% of the total seizures in the country. Mexican cartels are the primary producers and carriers of fentanyl and other opioids. The drugs are imported from China and then changed into pills or powder to be distributed in the U.S.

“A decade ago, we didn’t even know about fentanyl, and now it’s a national crisis…the amount of fentanyl we are seizing at the border is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in the release. “The number of fentanyl seizures and fentanyl-related deaths in our district are unprecedented.”

HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz spoke about the drug’s lethality.

“Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous narcotic that kills indiscriminately,” he said in the release. “Fentanyl is not the type of drug you experiment with, and it is only a matter of time before drug users consume a fatal dose.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that Mexican cartels are disguising fentanyl by combining it with other opioids like heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, which makes the drugs more lethal. The DEA noted that 1 kilogram of fentanyl has the potential for 500,000 overdoses. Someone can take a pill believing it to be something else, but it could be laced with fentanyl. Overdose deaths from fentanyl rose by 55.8% from January 2020 to January 2021.

In an op-ed for The Washington Times, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) noted that the Biden administration is not doing enough to fight the opioid crisis at the border. He argued that the president’s “open border policies” have contributed to the rise in overdose deaths with a record number of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs entering the country. Scott also noted that an increase in overdose deaths is being see all over the country, not just in border states like Arizona.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, border patrol has had more than 3.3 million encounters with illegal immigrants on the southwest border; CBP’s most recent data showed. In the 2021 fiscal year (FY), there were 1,734,686 encounters. So far in FY 2022, there have been 2,150,639 encounters. The total number of encounters in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 adds up to 3,885,325. Nationwide encounters total more than 4 million.

In a recent interview with Chuck Todd from MSNBC, Vice President Kamala Harris said "the border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system."

Todd responded with, "We're going to have 2 million people cross the border this year for the first time ever. You're confident this border is secure?"

Harris: "We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation including ours and our administration."

Keystone Today reached out to John Fetterman—a Democratic candidate running for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania—for comment on the issue but did not receive a response.