On the recordFebruary 6, 2025
I want to be honest. This legislation is literally breaking my heart because I am a New Mexican, born and raised, and there is not a single family in the State of New Mexico who has not been touched by the addiction crisis--the opioid crisis, fentanyl, alcoholism. There is not a single family that I know who has not lost somebody to this crisis, including my own. What I can tell Members about this crisis is that the way that we address it is that we stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our communities, and we make sure that our family members and our friends who are struggling with addiction can get the help that they need. They are not criminals. They are our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and children. Do my colleagues know what it is like to have their child disappear to the streets due to addiction? We do not need to incarcerate these people. They need help, and the way that they get help is to actually get with an addiction recovery doctor, peer support, clinic, or somewhere where they can get sober. Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues want to actually solve this crisis, we need to stop fentanyl from coming into the United States, to make sure that our communities can access care, and to save lives and help the members of our families and communities who are trying to reclaim their lives from this crisis. That is how we solve this crisis.…
