Families Against Fentanyl Calls for Biden Action on Fentanyl As America Faces Record Fentanyl Deaths

Father to father, Rauh Urges Biden to Address Fentanyl Crisis: Illicit Fentanyl Killing Americans, Poses Domestic Terror Threat

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW: FAF Founder, Advocate, Chemical Engineer, and Father Who Lost Son to Fentanyl Poisoning

Akron, Ohio -- Families Against Fentanyl is urging President Biden to take swift action to address skyrocketing fentanyl poisoning deaths in the United States. Under the Trump Administration, American deaths due to illicit fentanyl poisoning soared to record levels. The death toll continued to rise despite record seizures. In 2019 alone, the Department of Homeland Security reported it seized “enough fentanyl to kill every American four times over.” As the Biden Administration moves forward on executive and legislative actions in the first 100 days, Families Against Fentanyl is urging swift action on the illicit fentanyl crisis.

“At the same time as the Coronavirus death toll grows, there is another killer taking American lives: fentanyl. Illegal fentanyl is being secretly slipped into street drugs like cocaine and counterfeit pills like Xanax, poisoning Americans at an alarming rate,” said Families Against Fentanyl founder Jim Rauh of Akron, Ohio.

“President Biden knows the pain of seeing a loved one struggle with addiction issues, a pain far too many families are now seeing result in unintended death due to fentanyl poisoning. As a father, I urge President Biden to act swiftly to tackle the fentanyl crisis by fully funding harm reduction programs across the U.S. and utilizing the full resources of the federal government to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl by designating fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction,” said Rauh, whose petition to designate illicit fentanyl as a WMD has amassed more than 5,000 signatures.

“Fentanyl is a powerful toxin and just a sprinkling of this stuff is enough to kill anyone. It is easy to see how in untrained hands it is deadly. In the hands of domestic or foreign terrorists, it would be a nightmare.  Yet a growing supply continues to infiltrate our borders.”

“It’s time for the United States to bring the same kind of resources and urgency to the fentanyl crisis as is being brought to the Coronavirus pandemic,” added Rauh.  “Chasing after addicts is not going to stop this problem. We need emergency action to save lives, while creating a massive interagency and international campaign to crackdown on the illegal manufacturers and smuggling operations.” 
 

Families Against Fentanyl Founder Jim Rauh is a chemical engineer from Akron, Ohio who formed Families Against Fentanyl (FAF) after his son, Tom, died by fentanyl poisoning. Families Against Fentanyl has brought together thousands of families with policy makers, researchers, and state and federal leaders. FAF advocates for harm reduction measures and is fighting for illegal fentanyl and its analogs to be named a Weapon of Mass Destruction and launched a petition that has amassed more than 5,000 signatures. The current drug crisis has shown that fentanyl, in the hands of criminals, is capable of creating immense destruction in every community across the country.  Rauh has been determined to hold the foreign chemical manufacturers responsible and as 60 Minutes documented, he spent years pursuing justice and is currently suing the Zheng family syndicate out of China, who are responsible for thousands of deaths. Rauh has also been a strong proponent of harm reduction measures, partnering with pioneering public health groups in the US and Canada to support harm reduction programs and sponsoring fentanyl test strip initiatives. 

Media contact:
press@familiesagainstfentanyl.org
703-416-9188