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I was disappointed to see Courtland Milloy downplay it in his Dec. 28 Metro column, Is Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction? He received a recent call by 18 state attorneys general asking President Biden to consider designating illegal fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction.
Mr. Miloy proposed a false dichotomy. Reducing the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States and increasing treatment for people suffering from addiction is not a zero-sum game.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction designation would activate federal resources to stop illegal fentanyl before it reaches our borders and harms our communities. will require great cooperation. This is a fitting response to an unprecedented national crisis.
This designation does not prevent a person suffering from a substance use disorder from entering recovery. It is encouraging to see the stigma reduced around harm reduction tools such as fentanyl test strips. If my son Tommy had access to his 2015, he would probably still be with us.
While it’s important to ensure that Americans trapped in the darkness of addiction have access to treatment, the threat of illicit fentanyl also requires a government-wide response that the Weapons of Mass Destruction designation makes possible.
The author is the founder of Families Against Fentanyl.
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