Facing fentanyl head-on: Texas Sen. John Cornyn raises awareness in Dallas
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is once again raising awareness in North Texas about the fentanyl crisis.
This time, Sen. Cornyn is in Dallas participating in a roundtable discussion at Dallas Fire Station 19. In April, he spoke to parents in Carrollton of teens who died of fentanyl poisoning this year. During that discussion, he said, "This is all about money, the transnational criminal organizations, sometimes we call them cartels, they could care less about our children. They could care less about our community."
The Sept. 25 discussion comes amid National Recovery Month. Cornyn will discuss his recently introduced Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act, which would help prevent deaths from fentanyl poisoning by increasing access to test strips.
Local officials, law enforcement, healthcare providers, two North Texas mothers impacted by fentanyl, and a teenager who is in recovery from an opioid addiction will also participate.
Medical experts and community leaders will also address their efforts to combat this crisis in North Texas, where fentanyl killed 1,100 Texans in 2021.
He will also receive an update on the activities of the new Overdose Response Team, a partnership between Dallas Fire-Rescue and the Recovery Resource Council, which was created earlier this year in response to the crisis.