GOP Sen. Marshall calls for tougher crackdown on illicit drugs after DEA report

Conservative Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall called for tougher regulations and crackdowns on illicit drugs on Tuesday, after a Drug Enforcement Agency report detailed that fentanyl is the "deadliest" drug threat the United States has faced.

The 2024 drug assessment report found that fentanyl is becoming even more lethal, because the purity level of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. drug market has increased, along with the amount of fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills. 

Marshall said the new report, released last week, confirms the warnings that officials have issued over the opioid crisis, which has killed almost 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023.

“As President Biden sits back and lets our adversaries exploit our open border, the safety and security of America is my number one priority,” Marshall said in a statement. “Now is the time to pass legislation that would crack down on illicit drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, and ‘halt the deadly [sic] drug crisis the United States has ever faced.’” 

Marshall is leading and cosponsoring several bills to help counter drug trafficking, and the opioid crisis. including the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act, which designates certain Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel.

The senator also cosponsored the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act, which would make it a felony murder charge if a drug dealer knowingly gives someone drugs that contains fentanyl, and it results in the individual's death.

Other legislations Marshall has cosponsored includes the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, the Cooper Davis Act, which would force Big Tech companies to take a more proactive role against drug dealers that target minors on social media, and the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.