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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS THE DEADLY FENTANYL EPIDEMIC
WHEREAS, drug overdose or poisoning is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45; and
WHEREAS, nearly 70% of those deaths are due to Opioids, including Fentanyl; and
WHEREAS, Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than Morphine; and
WHEREAS, more than 91% of Opioid overdose deaths involved Fentanyl; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed 2,000 Opioid overdose deaths for 2022, breaking the previous record of 1,935 set in 2021; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has had two consecutive years of record high Opioid/Fentanyl overdose deaths; and
WHEREAS, just over 70% of the overdose deaths were in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, approximately 78% of the Opioid overdose deaths are male, African Americans make up 56% of the deaths, Latinos account for just under 15% and whites constitute 29% of the deaths; and
WHEREAS, these numbers and statistics are staggering and alarming for countless residents in Cook County and beyond; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says that the majority of Fentanyl is sourced from China and trafficked into the U.S. by the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels; and
WHEREAS, the current federal border policy ignores and underestimates the impact of the Fentanyl epidemic on the front line; and
WHEREAS, the DEA says it seized enough deadly Fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American multiple times over; and
WHEREAS, the federal government must tighten the entry points at our borders and crack down on the external producers of this deadly drug; and
WHEREAS, many of Illinois’ elected leaders reduced criminal charges for Fentanyl through the passage of the state’s Safe-T Act; and
WHEREAS, current policies are failing as illustrated by the heartbreaking statistics and data. Opioid/Fentanyl death counts will tragically continue to grow without a new rational course of action; and
WHEREAS, if Illinois wants to save lives, then it must reverse course and strengthen its laws against the illegal distribution and sale of Fentanyl; and
WHEREAS, on the local level, we must expand access to comprehensive drug treatment to end this deadly cycle of abuse that is devastating our communities.
THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the time to tackle this deadly epidemic head on is now. The Cook County Board of Commissioners calls for immediate action to be taken by the federal government to properly secure the border to stop the illegal flow of fentanyl into the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, copies of this resolution be distributed to Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Tammy Duckworth and the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation, and call upon them to demand President Biden and his administration seek an immediate securing of the U.S. border to stem the dangerous and tragic overflow of Fentanyl into the United States of America.
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