WASHINGTON
– Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics
Control, is pushing for the adoption of multiple policies to combat drug
smuggling, overdoses and crime as part of the National Drug Control Strategy.
“From
border seizures to criminal justice reform to opioid controls, the strategies
and policies we adopt to combat America’s multi-drug crisis will have a
significant impact on public safety and families. In Iowa and across the
country, we’ve lost too many people to overdose deaths, addiction and
drug-related crime. I’m glad the administration asked for my input on the national
strategy, and urge them to include these recommendations and implement them as
soon as possible,” Grassley said.
At
the invitation of Acting Director Regina LaBelle, Grassley submitted suggestions
for the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) national strategy that
could be adopted to bolster the federal government’s approach to drug
enforcement, prevention and treatment.
In
particular, Grassley pressed for action regarding fentanyl and related
synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, polysubstance or mixed drug use, and the increasing
use of marijuana especially among young people. The senator also highlighted the
need to address drug-adjacent issues as part of the broader strategy, including
criminal sentencing policies, anti-money laundering operations and drug interdiction
efforts both at the border and in tandem with Mexican counterparts.
Full
text of Grassley’s letter to ONDCP follows or can be found
HERE.
July 8, 2021
Ms.
Regina M. LaBelle
Acting
Director
Office
of National Drug Control Policy
1800
G. St NW
Washington,
DC 20006
Dear
Acting Director LaBelle:
Thank you for the invitation to provide
input to the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP)
National Drug Control Strategy (
Strategy). The
Strategy is critical in guiding the federal government’s approach
to drug enforcement, prevention, and treatment. As required by statute, the
Strategy shall focus on how to “limit[]
the availability of and reduc[e] the demand for illegal drugs and promot[e]
prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery support for individuals
with substance use disorders.”
[1]
This comprehensive strategy must be reflective of the current supply, demand,
dangers, and other factors impacting the illicit drug trade.
ONDCP issued its Statement of Drug Policy
Priorities earlier this year. As noted in your May 10 letter requesting input
on the
Strategy, this Statement of
Drug Policy Priorities is the foundation for the
Strategy. The Statement of Drug Policy outlines a number of admirable
goals, such as reducing the supply of illicit substances, supporting
evidence-based prevention efforts to reduce youth substances abuse, and
ensuring access to treatment.
[2]
However, this policy document is noticeably muted on critical issues that I
believe must be considered in the
National
Drug Control Strategy. I fear that if the
Strategy is based solely on the provisions outlined in the
priorities document, our nation’s drug control policy won’t reflect the dire
need to address all emerging and evolving threats. Therefore, I have outlined below
a list of items that I believe should be incorporated into the
National Drug Control Strategy.
Fentanyl and
Fentanyl Related Substances (FRS)
ONDCP notes in its Statement of Drug
Policy Priorities that “illicitly manufactured fentanyl and synthetic opioids
other than methadone. . . have been the primary driver behind the increase [in
overdose deaths].”
[3]
This document also states that we must reduce the supply of illicit drugs, and I
am pleased that ONDCP agrees that “part of the solution to the opioid overdose
epidemic involves preventing illicit drug trafficking in the United States.”
[4] A necessary component of ending our nation’s
overdose crisis must involve proactively and permanently scheduling fentanyl
related substances (FRS).
As you know, China placed FRS on Schedule
I in May of 2019. While this has decreased the volume of fentanyl substances
flowing into the United States, we have still seen record numbers of overdose
deaths and fentanyl abuse. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that
drug overdose deaths this year will be 18% higher than prior years, with the
overall jump in deaths being driven most substantially by drugs like fentanyl.
[5]
This is the greatest year-over-year increase since July 2017. Thus, despite
China’s scheduling action, we are nonetheless in the midst of a fentanyl crisis
in the United States, and as such, decisive action must be taken to control
these drugs within our borders.
The federal government has taken proactive
steps in the past, including a temporary scheduling order by the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) to place dangerous fentanyl-related substances
in Schedule I, and subsequent congressional action to extend this order to May
6, 2021, and again to October 22, 2021. I understand that ONDCP is working with
members in an Interagency Working Group to develop text on scheduling FRS.
However, it remains unclear if that legislative proposal will urge permanently
scheduling FRS, or if the proposal would have enough support to pass both
chambers of Congress.
With a looming expiration date and the
devastating number of overdose deaths at the hands of fentanyl analogues, it is
a surprise that the Statement of Drug Policy Priorities is silent on efforts to
proactively schedule FRS. Permanently scheduling deadly FRS is critical.
Therefore, the Strategy must include
steps that ONDCP will make – legislatively or through action by interagency
partners – to permanently schedule FRS.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine poses a significant
public health and safety threat. According to DEA, “[m]ethamphetamine seizures,
prices, and purity data as well as law enforcement reporting all indicate that
methamphetamine continues to be readily available.”
[6]
The increasing purity and potency of methamphetamine combined with steady
availability has led to more overdose deaths year after year.
[7]
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), methamphetamine often
poses a greater risk than opioids and is the drug that most contributes to
violent crime.
[8]
While domestic clandestine
methamphetamine laboratory seizures have decreased, the volume of
methamphetamine entering the United States from Mexico is at staggeringly high
numbers and continues to increase every year.
[9]
The amount of meth seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from
FY18 to FY20 more than doubled, and to date, CBP has seized 125,262 pounds in
FY21 and is well within range to surpass last year’s total.
[10]
This alarming data makes clear that
ONDCP must include in its Strategy a
comprehensive approach on how to address prevention, interdiction, and
enforcement efforts surrounding methamphetamine. It is critical that the Strategy include a section on how we can
formulate domestic strategies to investigate and prosecute drug traffickers and
prevent youth and those with substance use disorders from using
methamphetamine. The Strategy should
also outline efforts that should be undertaken to limit the supply of meth
coming into the United States from Mexico.
Polysubstance Drug
Use
Polysubstance drug use is an increasingly
common problem. No longer are Americans using or addicted to solely one
substance. Instead, users often consume and drug dealers often peddle more than
one drug. An unfortunate reality of polysubstance drug use is that many users
are unaware that they have been exposed to more than one drug. This growing
issue means that an opioid-involved overdose often occurs in combination with
exposure to other opioids and/or deadly fentanyl analogues and FRS.
The overdose epidemic has grown
increasingly complex by co-involvement of prescription and illicit drugs. For
example, CDC data show that synthetic opioids – primarily fentanyl related
substances – were involved in 23.7% of deaths involving prescription opioids,
37.4% involving heroin, and 40.3% involving cocaine.
[11]Additionally,
recent data indicate that the involvement of opioids in stimulant-involved
deaths is increasing. Nearly three-quarters of cocaine-involved overdose deaths
also involved an opioid in 2017.
[12]
Previous data have indicated that synthetic opioids, in particular, appear to
be driving increases in cocaine-involved overdose deaths. As the number of
poly-drug users continue to rise, more research is needed on the co-use of
stimulants and opioids as well as how their combination impacts a person’s
health and the risk of overdoses.
Many drug trafficking organizations (DTOs)
are polydrug in nature. They specialize in the packaging, sale, and
distribution of more than one drug at a time. Therefore, a singular approach to
interdiction, prevention, treatment, enforcement, and supply reduction for one
drug may be myopic.
It is important for ONDCP to include
either a section or an overall approach on addressing polysubstance drug abuse
in its Strategy to ensure that the
overall drug abuse and overdose crisis is holistically addressed, including
efforts on prevention, enforcement, and treatment.
Marijuana
According to the CDC:
[13]
- Marijuana is the most commonly
used illegal drug in the United States, with approximately 22.2 million
users each month.
- Research shows that about 1 in
10 marijuana users will become addicted. For people who begin using before
the age of 18, that number rises to 1 in 6.
- Marijuana use directly affects
the brain — specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory,
learning, attention, decision making, coordination, emotions, and reaction
time. Developing brains, like those in babies, children, and teens, are
especially susceptible to the adverse effects of marijuana.
- Eating foods or drinking
beverages that contain marijuana have some different risks than smoking
marijuana, including a greater risk of poisoning.
- Long-term or frequent
marijuana use has been linked to increased risk of psychosis or
schizophrenia in some users.
- Using marijuana during
pregnancy may increase the baby’s risk for developmental problems.
Marijuana use is consistently increasing.
In Iowa, for instance, the primary substance of abuse for juveniles is
marijuana.
[14]
Also, many mistakenly believe marijuana is not harmful or addictive. Clear
messages to all users – but youth in particular – as to the danger of addictive
substances, like marijuana, is critical, particularly as potency and
availability of marijuana increases.
Despite a number of states legalizing
marijuana for recreational purposes, there is unfortunately not enough research
into the impacts of marijuana use in the long-term, particularly for adolescent
or pregnant users. There’s also a lack of information on how marijuana impacts
those operating a vehicle, and how it interacts with other drugs and alcohol.
ONDCP should include a section in the Strategy on addressing the increasing
use of marijuana, the benefits and dangers of the substance, and how it plans
to implement prevention programs for youth users.
Money Laundering
DTOs often rely on money laundering
organizations (MLOs) to finance their operations and conceal their illicit
activities. Money laundering and illicit activities have devastating economic,
social, and health consequences. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime, the worldwide proceeds from drug trafficking and other transnational
organized crimes were equivalent to 1.5 percent of global GDP, or $870 billion
in 2009.
[15]
One of the biggest challenges for DTOs are
finding ways to convert their revenue into usable currency. Unfortunately, the
US banking system is at the center of these laundering efforts.
[16]
Cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, is
emerging as a popular form of currency to fund illegal activity and drug
trafficking. Cryptocurrencies are among the largest unregulated markets in the
world. What makes cryptocurrency dangerous is that users have the ability to
remain anonymous, which makes it difficult for U.S. Federal, State, and Local
law enforcement agencies to accurately detect and catch those who engage in the
illegal trafficking of narcotics. According to researchers, it is estimated
that illegal transactions, including for drugs, conducted in bitcoin reached
$76 billion annually.
[17]
ONDCP should include a section in the Strategy that addresses how digital
currency technologies is funding illicit activities and work with other
government entities such as Treasury, DOJ/DEA, and the FBI to strengthen the US
financial systems to prevent DTOs and MLOs from taking advantage of banking
loopholes.
Criminal Justice
Reform Priorities
The Statement of Drug Policy Priorities
states that it plans to “[e]stablish an interagency working group to agree on
specific policy priorities for criminal justice reform.”
[18]
I have been a partner and leader on criminal justice reform efforts in the
Senate, through advancing and passing into law the
First Step Act, and most recently teaming up across the aisle to
advance a number of criminal justice bills from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
[19]
As a leader in this issue, I’m interested and looking forward to what the
Administration deems criminal justice policy priorities.
However, any legislative proposals on
criminal justice reform must be balanced and bipartisan. Our laws must be
strong enough to deter and punish those who commit heinous and violent acts,
but allow for rehabilitation and reentry for those who can be productive
citizens. Drug sentencing issues often overlap with criminal justice reform,
and these considerations are particularly relevant as Congress evaluates and
discusses how to best strike an appropriate balance. Federal drug sentencing laws
are intended to punish and deter DTOs and those who manufacture and distribute
drugs, and recommendations in the Strategy
should reflect this reality.
Therefore, the Strategy’s inclusion of criminal justice priorities must strike the
appropriate balance of deterrence and punishment with rehabilitation and
fairness, but also be mindful of the role that criminal laws have on preventing
future addicts or drug abusers.
The Southwest
Border Counternarcotics Strategy
The Statement of Drug Policy
Priorities states that in order to reduce the supply of illicit drugs, ONDCP
plans to “[w]ork with key partners in the Western Hemisphere, like Mexico and
Colombia . . . to curb the production and trafficking of illicit drugs.”
[20]
The southwest border (SWB) is the primary entry point into the United States
for all major illicit drugs killing Americans. Mexico is the primary source
country of heroin and methamphetamine in the United States, and is the main
transit country for synthetic opioids and FRS.
As ONDCP seeks to reach its goal of
curbing production and trafficking of illicit drugs, it’s imperative that the
Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy
– as part of the overall
Strategy –
incorporates provisions on how to address all illicit drugs, including the
evolving and emerging threats posed by fentanyl analogues.
[21]
In addition, the breakdown of joint drug interdiction efforts with our
counterparts in Mexico has led to illicit drugs being smuggled into communities
across the United States, driving an explosion in overdose deaths that took
more than 90,000 American lives last year.
[22]
Therefore, the Strategy must include a plan on repairing joint drug interdiction
efforts with our Mexican counterparts, and robust efforts to secure the
Southwest border and prevent the illegal trafficking of drugs across the
international border between the United States and Mexico, including through
ports of entry and between ports of entry.
Impact of COVID-19
COVID-19 has changed many parts of
our lives. Our response and policy priorities must morph and evolve in light of
the changes from the global pandemic. As the agency tasked with our nationwide
approach to drug control, ONDCP should include in its Strategy how it plans to address enforcement, prevention,
treatment, and recovery in a post-COVID world. This evaluation can include, but
is not limited to, a discussion and outline of changes in the supply chain for
interdiction and enforcement purposes; the increase of synthetic drug supply; increase
or changes in treatment; increases or changes in drug use; and any lessons that
should be learned from COVID-19 for drug policy in general.
Thank you again for the invitation to
provide input and recommendations for inclusion in the Strategy. The above points are important and necessary additions to
any approach on a holistic drug control strategy, but are certainly not indicative
of the only things that should be addressed. I look forward to continuing to
working with the Administration on these critical issues and reviewing the 2021 National
Drug Control Strategy.
Sincerely,
-30-
[1]
21 U.S.C. 1705(b)(1).
[2]
Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, “The
Biden-Harris Administration’s Statement of Drug Policy Priorities for Year
One.”
[6]
Drug Enforcement Administration “2020 National Drug Threat Assessment,”
Methamphetamine, p. 19.
[18] Executive
Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, “The
Biden-Harris Administration’s Statement of Drug Policy Priorities for Year
One,” p 3.
[20]
Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, “The
Biden-Harris Administration’s Statement of Drug Policy Priorities for Year
One,” p 6.