Held a hearing on the growing problem of individuals buying illicit opioids over the internet and shipping them to the United States through the mail. The Opioid Crisis, sadly, continues to get worse, not better. Last month, the center for Disease Control reported that more than 63,000 americans died in 2016 from Drug Overdoses. Indications are that number increased in 2017. These Overdose Deaths are shocking. The number of deaths continue to grow. My own home state of ohio, we were told recently is now second in the country in terms of Overdose Deaths. Its heartbreaking. And increasingly, these overdoses are due to a synthetic heroin, illegal versions of fentanyl, a drug that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin. In fact, in ohio, fentanyl and its variations were involved in 60 of the Overdose Deaths last year. So, its become the number one killer in ohio. The vast majority of illegal fentanyl is purchased online from labs in china and then shipped to the United States through the
In Cape Coral, at least two instances of mail theft have occurred. One resulted in several holiday cards turning up missing and never making it to their final destination.