{"id":97392,"date":"2018-01-11T08:38:47","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T13:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=97392"},"modified":"2018-01-11T08:38:47","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T13:38:47","slug":"president-signs-fentanyl-interdiction-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2018\/01\/11\/president-signs-fentanyl-interdiction-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"President signs fentanyl interdiction bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Submitted information<\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown\u2019s bipartisan bill to keep illegal fentanyl out of Ohio was signed into law by President Trump on Wednesday after Brown joined his colleague Senator Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts) to usher the bill to unanimous passage in the Senate at the end of last year. Brown joined President Trump at the White House Wednesday evening as Trump signed Brown\u2019s bill, the\u00a0Interdict Act, into law.<\/p>\n

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Sherrod Brown<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis law is about giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep fentanyl out of our country and off Ohio streets,\u201d\u00a0said Brown.\u00a0\u201cWe must build on this bipartisan momentum and come together to start combatting the addiction epidemic like the public health emergency that it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of the bill\u2019s passage, the Youngstown Vindicator<\/em> called the passage of Interdict \u201camong the best news of year\u201d\u00a0in the fight against the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the best news of the year came late Thursday, when U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, through persistence and new support from the Fraternal Order of Police, pushed through his Interdict Act hours before senators beat feet for their long holiday recess,\u201d\u00a0wrote the Vindicator<\/em>.\u00a0Read the full editorial here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The signing of Brown\u2019s\u00a0Interdict Act\u00a0into law comes just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released\u00a0new data<\/a>\u00a0late last month showing Ohio had the second highest death rate by drug overdose in the U.S in 2016.\u00a0The law will provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with additional hi-tech screening equipment and lab resources to detect fentanyl before it enters the U.S.<\/p>\n

Several state and national law enforcement organizations<\/a>, including the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Buckeye State Sheriffs\u2019 Association, have endorsed Brown\u2019s bill.\u00a0Brown\u2019s bill is also supported by U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Brown is supporting Portman\u2019s\u00a0STOP Act<\/a>, which is also endorsed by law enforcement. The two bills work together to help block the deadly synthetic opioid from reaching Ohio communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cExposure to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, even in small amounts, is dangerous to Ohio law enforcement officers and the citizens they serve. As we work to keep these deadly synthetic opioids out of Ohio communities, Sen. Brown\u2019s bill provides important tools to prevent fentanyl from crossing our borders in the first place. Ohio FOP was glad to support the Interdict Act and we are pleased that the legislation is now law,\u201d\u00a0said Ohio Fraternal Order of the Police (FOP) President Jay McDonald.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day, Ohio sheriffs are on the front lines fighting the opioid epidemic in their communities. Their job is made even more difficult by the increase in exposure to the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Sen. Brown\u2019s bill will enhance law enforcement officers\u2019 ability to keep deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl out of Ohio communities, and we are proud to have worked with Sen. Brown to pass the Interdict Act into law,\u201d\u00a0said Preble County Sherriff Michael Simpson, president of the Buckeye State Sheriffs\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s law will authorize $15 million for new screening devices, laboratory equipment, facilities, and personnel for 24×7 lab support.<\/p>\n

The money will be used to:<\/p>\n