On the recordJune 14, 2018
All of us, everybody we know, has a lot of things that they are dealing with on a daily basis. There are challenges, and there are issues and little minicrises, until somebody gets a phone call that says that their child is in the emergency room with an opioid overdose. Then, all of a sudden, you have one crisis. That has been happening in my constituency, and I know that has been happening in districts all across the country. The first time this issue was brought to my attention, it was from a friend of mine. The coroner in DuPage County, Illinois, in my district, Dr. Rich Jorgensen said: Peter, there are kids who are dying of this crisis. He kept being a voice on this and bringing it to my attention. He and others in my home county, the HOPE Taskforce, have been joining together. I have met with them. They have given me feedback. Similarly, there is another task force, the Substance Abuse Coalition in McHenry County, Illinois, doing similar work. As I have met with them, they have said that one of the challenges is that this drug, this fentanyl, comes in through the United States Postal Service. When you first hear about this, you are incredulous about it. You say: No, that can't be. But the more you learn, the more you realize that this is a major problem. In fact, in terms of importing this or this crossing our border, my understanding is that this is at the top of the heap.…
