Political Quotes

“I want to thank my colleagues in this body for their hard work and their true bipartisan efforts to address the opioid and drug crisis in the United States. The legislation before us will help to combat an epidemic that touches the lives of almost every person in our country. In Montana opioid overdoses have claimed the lives of 700 people since 2000. From 2013 to 2014, 42 percent of all drug-related deaths were caused by opioids. With easier access and a larger supply on the street, we are finding opioids in the hands of more and more people. It is tearing families apart. It is devastating our communities. While we must focus on combating the opioid crisis, we must also continue to address a related but separate epidemic that is wreaking havoc in Montana and in many other States; that is, the methamphetamine epidemic. In Montana, meth is destroying families and communities and disproportionately impacting our Tribes. In fact, we have seen a 415- percent increase in meth cases from 2011 to 2017, and a 375-percent increase in meth-related deaths in that same timeframe. To put this in perspective, in 2013, law enforcement seized 40 pounds of meth. In 2017, that number more than quadrupled to 188 pounds. Almost all meth in Montana is smuggled across the southern border. We have seen a dramatic increase of that drug flowing from Mexico into our communities. Meth is linked to more violent crimes and robberies than any other drug. Meth is highly addictive.…”