US President Trump Signs Bipartisan Bill to Fight Drug Trafficking

To prevent illegal drugs from entering the US, President Trump has signed a legislation that grants $9 million to fight trafficking of opioid analgesics.

US President Donald Trump has signed a legislation that aims to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The bill grants $9 million to the Customs and Border Protection to fight trafficking of opioid analgesics, entering the US from Mexico and Canada.

The initiative is specifically aimed at ending the trafficking of fentanyl, a white powder analgesic 30-50 times more powerful than heroin and usually used to treat cancer, although in recent years, criminal groups have used it to increase the potency of heroin.

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The use of Drugs for reasons other than its prescribed recommendation, is known as Drug abuse or substance abuse. Drug abuse or substance abuse is initiated by various biological and social factors.

‘President Trump signs bill granting $9 million to US Customs and Border Protection to fight trafficking of opioid analgesics. Drug overdose deaths have become the most common cause of violent death in US.’

The drug traffickers "are using our postal system and they're killing our people," Trump said on Wednesday while signing the bill in the Oval Office, accompanied by Vice President, Mike Pence, and 17 legislators from both parties, Efe news reported.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl is manufactured in China but enters US territory across the borders with Mexico and Canada, where the drug arrives by postal mail and in very small quantities, making it very difficult to detect.

Trump said that the new bill is "a significant step forward" in the fight against fentanyl, a substance which, according to him, is so dangerous that it has killed police sniffing dogs.

Impact of Drug Abuse on Health and Society
Drug abuse is a negative social trend that pushes youth to drug addiction in the pretext of getting psychological effects like excitation.

"Even dogs die from the scent," Trump said, adding that "nobody has ever seen anything like this."

The law that Trump signed on Wednesday stipulates that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must have portable chemical screening devices at ports of entry and at mail facilities.

Prescription Drug Abuse
Prescription drug abuse is consuming prescription medications in a way different from that as prescribed by the doctor. It is becoming a colossal health problem which can lead to addiction and even death.

Specifically, the legislation grants $9 million to the CBP to purchase hundreds of such devices as well as laboratory equipment.

The bill was passed in the House of Representatives with 412 votes in favour and only 3 against, and it subsequently received the unanimous support from the Senate.

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Drug overdose involves the intake of drug in excessive quantity than the recommended dose. It is due to overuse of over-the-counter medications or illegal drugs.

Over the past six years, drug overdose deaths have become the most common cause of violent death in the US, over and above road traffic accidents or weapons.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016.

Fentanyl is directly linked to more than 700 deaths between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2015, according to the latest data from the DEA.

Source-IANS