Klobuchar has introduced the bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act to help stop synthetic drugs from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers in the U.S.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar released the following statement following preliminary findings by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) showing the number of synthetic opioid-involved deaths increased 74 percent from 2016 to 2017, largely due to increased use of fentanyl. Of the 172 synthetic opioid-related deaths, 156 involved fentanyl.

“Today’s preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health confirms how hard this epidemic is hitting our state. We had an estimated 694 deaths from opioids and other drug overdoses in 2017—156 involved fentanyl, nearly twice as many as in 2016. We need to crack down on dangerous synthetic drugs coming from foreign countries through our postal system, and I have a bipartisan bill that would do that. We need to pass the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act.”

As a former Hennepin County Attorney, Klobuchar has long led local and national efforts to curb drug abuse and help people overcome addiction. Last year, Klobuchar and Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced the bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers in the United States.

In February, Klobuchar and Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 Act. The bill will increase the funding authorization levels for the CARA programs enacted in 2016 and put in place additional policy reforms to help combat the opioid epidemic.

To build on the monumental first step of CARA, Klobuchar introduced the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act, which would require the use of strong prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in all states that receive certain federal funding to combat opioid abuse and also requires states to make their PDMP data available to other states.

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