Buchanan seeks to sanction China for sending fentanyl to US

A local lawmaker is directly targeting one of the main sources of a deadly synthetic opioid in a new bill.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, announced the introduction of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act, which has been co-sponsored by Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat. The legislation comes just days after China announced its own fentanyl regulation strategy.

A high-ranking Chinese official said their new system would “effectively prevent the massive abuse of fentanyl substances and illegal drug traffic and smuggling activities,” but Buchanan urged further domestic action.

“Fentanyl and other opioids have ravaged Florida communities and torn apart many families and lives,” Buchanan said. “While I welcome China’s announcement that it will ban all forms of fentanyl, we must ensure that their words are followed through with meaningful action.”

If passed, the legislation would impose sanctions on drug manufacturers who “knowingly” send synthetic opioids from China to drug traffickers and other criminal operations, authorize $600 million for worldwide law enforcement against the opioid crisis and create a federal commissioned tasked with combating opioid traffickers.

Both Buchanan and Moulton represent populations hit hard by the opioid epidemic in the United States. In recent years, Manatee County had been known as “ground zero” for the crisis in Florida. Former Gov. Rick Scott visited Bradenton in 2018 to sign HB 21 into law, which put a three-day limit on opioid prescriptions for acute pain.

The situation is dire in Massachusetts, as well, where reports indicate that in four years, the number of opioid-overdose deaths has nearly tripled from 691 to 1,990 in four years.

“Fentanyl has become the leading illegal drug in the opioid crisis in our country, and it’s time we attack the source,” Moulton said. “While China’s ban on producing fentanyl is a promising start, Congress should hold China to its word.”

“This bill will target the fentanyl producers worldwide who profit from the overdose deaths happening in communities across our country, including Massachusetts where fentanyl is the leading cause of opioid-overdose deaths,” he added.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced similar legislation last week, according to a news release. Buchanan has a history of pushing bills that clamp down on drug addiction and recovery. Most recently, President Donald Trump signed the Centralized Opioid Guidance Act into law, creating a database that makes relevant information more accessible for doctors and patients.