Greg Murphy: “Today, I rise to speak on the tragedy that is facing our Nation in the opioid epidemic. As a physician for over 30…”

“Today, I rise to speak on the tragedy that is facing our Nation in the opioid epidemic. As a physician for over 30 years, there is nothing more important to me than the health and safety of our communities. Unfortunately, it is no secret that communities across this great Nation are suffering from an opioid crisis that is sweeping the country once again. As a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, I worked tirelessly on legislation to help curb the number of overdose deaths that were occurring in our State. After three decades of climbing statistics of young people dying from overdoses, we effected a change, and that number started to decrease. We did this by decreasing the number of prescribed opioids. However, tragically enough, that number has started to rise again. That is because the illicit fentanyls have now taken over the death market. Last year alone, more than 93,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, which demonstrates a 30 percent increase from 2019. Of the 93,000 drug- related overdoses last year, 69 percent were opioid-related. According to the CDC, last year, the tragic surge in these deaths is attributed largely to the illicit fentanyls. People know that, medically speaking, fentanyl is one of the most lethal substances on the planet. In fact, 2 milligrams can be considered a lethal dose. Since Biden and Harris flung open our southern border, illicit drugs have poured into this country in record numbers.…”