Dupage Policy Journal

Sen. John Curran (R-Lemont) is concerned about a bill aimed at tackling the fentanyl crisis because he says it may be counterproductive.

“If we want to get serious about combatting that and getting the people that are lacing these products with fentanyl — to add the element ‘known or should have known’ to the prosecution — to raise that burden in holding one accountable for those actions — that is a giant step backwards in accountability,” Curran said on the Senate floor. “I think that this bill, while you have a lot of good intentions, Senator, in this bill, that is a big step backwards in holding the individuals accountable that are causing and wrecking travesty and damage throughout this state and wrecking families with these tragedies.”

Illinois state lawmakers are considering legislation aimed at tackling the fentanyl crisis, Heart of Illinois ABC News reported. One proposal would decriminalize having synthetic opioids in one’s system, in the hopes that more people would seek treatment. Another proposal, sponsored by Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), would provide drug testing kits to pharmacies to distribute to users, following the same logic as providing clean needles to drug addicts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the drug was linked to 49,860 overdose deaths in 2019.

“We do have a crisis with regards to fentanyl and deaths,” Curran said. “These people are not knowingly ingesting fentanyl, but the product they’re acquiring is being laced with it.”

Two thousand nine hundred forty-four Illinoisans died from opioid overdoses in 2020, which was a 33% increase from 2019, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. Of all the drug overdose deaths in 2020, 83% involved synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths increased by 2,736% from 2013 to 2020. Opioids killed more than twice as many Illinoisans as car crashes in 2020.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported college students are abusing prescription opioids.

The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reported that 97,779 Americans died from drug overdoses from March 2020 to March 2021. Opioids were a factor in almost 70% of those deaths.