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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey Thursday said while everyone remains focused on the COVID-19 crisis, it&rsquo;s important to not lose sight of the fact that fentanyl is still killing Pennsylvanians every day.
				&ldquo;This is still a very dangerous epidemic and we need to be doing all that we can to keep fentanyl out of our state and off our streets and out of our country,&rdquo; said Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley.
				Toomey was joined by Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and several members of local law enforcement for a news conference at the county courthouse urging support of his Blocking Deadly Fentanyl Imports Act. The proposed bipartisan legislation would suspend certain foreign aid to countries that are complicit in the importation of illegal fentanyl to the United States.
				Salavantis said the Luzerne County Drug Task Force has confiscated 3,840 grams &mdash; nearly 8.5 pounds &mdash; of heroin/fentanyl in 2019 and 2020. That may sound like a small amount to a lay person, but bear in mind that the synthetic opioid is extremely potent and can be lethal in tiny doses &mdash; as little as two milligrams, or the size of two grains of salt, is enough to kill, <a href="https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2020/08/06/alarming-spike-fentanyl-related-overdose-deaths-leads-officials-issue" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says</a>.
				&ldquo;This is a huge problem in Luzerne County,&rdquo; Salavantis said. &ldquo;And we commend Sen. Toomey for his efforts to get this legislation passed.&rdquo;
				Under the Blocking Deadly Fentanyl Imports Act, the United States would publicly identify countries that are major producers or traffickers of illicit fentanyl &mdash; something that Toomey said our government already does for heroin, marijuana, and cocaine, but has not yet done for fentanyl.
				Toomey said fentanyl-exporting countries would then have to criminalize the illicit production of fentanyl and prosecute violators.
				&ldquo;If countries fail to take these steps, they risk becoming ineligible for certain American taxpayer-funded foreign aid and development loans,&rdquo; Toomey said.
				The Senate passed the measure as part of its annual defense policy bill and it now heads to a conference committee where House and Senate members will reconcile the differences between the defense bills passed by each chamber.
				Standing at a podium in the rotunda of the courthouse, Toomey said the legislation is meant to be a tool to help keep illegal fentanyl out of the country and off the streets &ldquo;and out of the hands of men and women who are our neighbors.&rdquo;
				Toomey added, &ldquo;And it is important, because fentanyl is just so, so dangerous. As you probably know, this is a synthetic opioid. It has made the opioid crisis so lethal. It is 30 to 50 times as harmful as heroin. Which when I was a kid, we thought was the most powerful and terrible drug imaginable. Now, he&rsquo;s something that&rsquo;s many, many more times powerful.&rdquo;
				Toomey said he has been told that just 2 milligrams of fentanyl &mdash; the equivalent of a few grains of table salt &mdash; is enough to kill the average adult.
				In June of 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized 110 pounds of fentanyl at the Port of Philadelphia.
				Toomey said 110 pounds of fentanyl is enough to kill every man, woman, and child in Pennsylvania &mdash; twice.
				&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how much was imported in just one shipment,&rdquo; he said.
				Nationally, Toomey said fentanyl has caused tens of thousands of deaths &mdash; in Pennsylvania, about 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths involve fentanyl.
				&ldquo;Well, the fact is, the vast majority of the fentanyl on the streets doesn&rsquo;t originate in the United States,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;The 110 pounds I mentioned that was intercepted in Philadelphia was made in China. And, Canada and Mexico are increasingly recognized as trade shipment points.&rdquo;
				And, Toomey noted, one of the challenges of fighting fentanyl is tiny quantities are so lethal making it easy to ship.
				&rdquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on this for four years,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;My counterpart in this effort, is a Democratic senator from Alabama, named Doug Jones. Our legislation passed the Senate in July.
				Talking Trump
				Toomey said he was invited to the White House to attend President Donald Trump&rsquo;s acceptance speech Thursday night at the close of the Republican National Convention. Toomey, who said he is very busy in Pennsylvania, said he supports Trump in his pursuit of a second four-year term as president.
				Toomey went on to say that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration had brought the nation&rsquo;s economy to the best level he has ever seen in his lifetime.
				&ldquo;If we elect Joe Biden we will risk returning to the days of the Great Depression,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;Biden will also bring a halt to the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania.&rdquo;
				Toomey said if the Trump campaign asks, he would gladly campaign with Trump in Pennsylvania.

Toomey brings anti-fentanyl bill pitch to Luzerne County