House passes fentanyl legislation
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke’s legislation to
protect Americans from exposure
to synthetic opioids, like
fentanyl, passed in the US House
of Representatives on Monday.
The Synthetic Opioid Exposure
Prevention and Training Act
(H.R. 4739) will require mandatory
safety measures so workers
screening packages and cargo
entering the US can properly
and safely screen for fentanyl and
other synthetic opioids at borders
and airports, like New York’s
John F. Kennedy International.
“Empowering our workers
who screen packages in our airports
and at our borders to feel
safe, when looking for fentanyl,
helps keep this deadly drug off
our streets while protecting these
workers from accidental exposure
and potential death,” said
Clarke, who represents the 19th
Senatorial District, afterwards.
“I’m proud my legislation.
“The Synthetic Opioid Exposure
Prevention and Training Act
passed the House,” she added.
“This means less synthetic opioids,
like fentanyl, on our streets.
Our workers can have peace of
mind as they protect the American
people by safely screening for
these deadly drugs.”
Clarke said Fentanyl is a synthetic
Caribbean L 18 ife, December 13-19, 2019
drug “100 times stronger
than morphine that was developed
to help pain patients and
is dispensed in incredibly small
dosages due to its potency.”
She said as little as one grain
of fentanyl can be deadly when
handled improperly.
“Fentanyl’s opioid properties
have lent itself to abuse in
patients and furthermore has
made it to the streets due to
its highly addictive nature,” the
congresswoman said. “To get a
‘better high’ makers of heroin
often lace their products with
fentanyl unbeknownst to users
resulting in overdose deaths.”
Much of the screening occurs
only a few miles from the neighborhoods
Clarke represents, at
New York’s seaports and at the
JFK Airport International Mail
Facility – the largest mail screening
facility in America – “where
every day fentanyl is found hidden
in packages from places like
China.”
Clarke pointed to a recent
Department of Homeland Security
Office of Inspector General
(OIG) Management Alert, which
identified a number of serious
issues with the US Customs and
Border Patrol’s (CBP) preparations
for accidental contact with
synthetics, like fentanyl.
In particular, the Alert highlighted
inadequate training procedures,
limited preparation
for accidental exposure and a
frequent failure to ensure that
the most common antidote,
Naloxone, was readily available in
areas where accidental exposure
to synthetics could occur.
Clarke said the Synthetic
Opioid Exposure Prevention and
Training Act will require CBP to
implement a number of measures
for workers’ safety.
These include specific protocols
and procedures outlining
the safe handling of substances,
which could contain synthetic
opioids; mandatory, recurring
training to cover the dangers of
exposure to synthetics and the
proper use of protective equipment
and Naloxone; and supply
appropriate personal protective
equipment to minimize contact
if unknown substances must be
handled by workers.
The measure also provide sufficient
qualities of Naloxone to
prevent a tragic outcome should
accident exposure occur; and
conduct regular updates to these
trainings, protocols and procedures
to ensure they are effective.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. Photo by Nelson A. King
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