FEND off Fentanyl Act signed into law
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — President Joe Biden signed the FEND off Fentanyl Act into law on Wednesday.
It was designed to help combat the ongoing opioid crisis by targeting the fentanyl supply chain.
Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has been a proponent of the bill since its inception, citing the impact fentanyl has had on the state.
The bill will crack down on criminal organizations, from chemical suppliers in China to the Mexican cartels, by targeting their financial assets.
"As I travel across Pennsylvania, I've heard from far too many families who have lost a loved one to the fentanyl crisis, and I carry their stories with me to Washington as I've pushed to get this bill passed," Sen. Casey said in a statement.
In February, local families directly impacted by fentanyl celebrated with law enforcement after the bill passed the U.S. Senate.
"My daughter, Brianna Sanner, she died April 5, 2022, at the age of 30. She was my only child, and obviously, part of my heart and soul are gone with her," Janet Morrison-Heberling said at a press conference earlier this year.
Morrison-Heberling uses her unimaginable pain of losing her beautiful daughter to help the fight against fentanyl. She's been sharing her daughter's story and spreading the word about her support for the bill.
In 2022, accidental drug overdoses were the number one cause of death for Pennsylvanians under 40, and a total of 5,200 died from drug overdoses that year in the state.