Dear Friend, 

Today, fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death among young adults 18 to 45 years old. In 2023 alone, Minnesota saw nearly 1,300 drug overdose deaths and 4,819 nonfatal overdoses. While we are happy to see that overdose deaths are on a slight decline in Minnesota, every overdose death is preventable.

A lethal dose of fentanyl is smaller than a dime and can be balanced on the tip of a pencil. This deadly drug is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and easier and cheaper to produce than cocaine or heroin. Since fentanyl is extremely potent, small batches are also easier to smuggle across the border.

We can – and must – do more at the federal level to address the drug epidemic impacting our communities. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the HALT Fentanyl Act. We were proud to support this legislation which permanently extends President Trump’s 2018 Schedule I classification of fentanyl-related substances to give law enforcement officers the tools they need to keep Americans safe and this poison off our streets.

Without this legislation, fentanyl-related substances, which are substances that function the same as fentanyl but have a different chemical structure, could effectively become street legal. This would lead to skyrocketing overdose deaths in our communities and cannot be allowed to happen. We were proud to support the HALT Fentanyl Act and look forward to its passage in the Senate and becoming law with President Trump’s signature.

Sincerely,