Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) | Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) | Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) recently introduced a measure that, if passed, would make it so that fentanyl is seen as a weapon of mass destruction in the eyes of the federal government.
The so-called Fentanyl is a WMD Act, would put the epidemic brought about by the synthetic opioid in the hands of additional agencies outside of the Department of Homeland Security, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
"This would enable the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Department of Defense to better coordinate their efforts and immediately publish the necessary administrative directive to eliminate the threat posed by this deadly substance," Boebert, who is currently running for reelection in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, told Fox News.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the DEA said fentanyl is considered to have approximately 100 times the strength of morphine, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. In a medical setting, it's often used as a patch to treat pain in cancer patients. Boebert's bill would not interfere with using fentanyl for legitimate medical purposes such as these.
"A weapon of mass destruction is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people," the DHS said on its site.
More Americans 18-45 died by overdosing on fentanyl than by any other cause in 2021, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
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