Republican legislators asked for a Christmas gift from President Joe Biden (D) and his administration. Their goal? To have the President classify the incredibly fatal drug fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) were at the top of the signatures of the letter.
While most think of weapons of mass destruction, they think of nuclear warheads or chemical weapons. Many wouldn’t think to include a drug that is illegally trafficked consistently.
However, over time, this drug has killed hundreds of thousands in America alone.
With a reclassification of this drug to a WMD, penalties for illegally trafficking this drug across the border could come with much heavier consequences.
“Given the year-to-date increase in fatal drug overdose deaths caused by foreign illicit opioids, we write to day to urge you to pursue a comprehensive strategy to combat this epidemic by designating illicit fentanyl analogues and all precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction (WMD),” write the lawmakers.
They would also request that Biden take “immediate executive action” granted to him by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and that foreign nations such as Russia have already used the drug in a wartime setting, including using it against Chechen terrorist forces in 2002.
The legislators conclude with a final plea to the President.
“As the Commander in Chief, you must act to protect the United States from all foreign threats…our adversaries cannot be trusted and must be held accountable for the damage it is doing to the fabric of our nation. By appropriately classifying fentanyl as a WMD, we see the opportunity to properly infiltrate drug trafficking rings with suitable penalties for the death and destruction they are creating throughout the United States," read the letter.
Last week, I joined my colleague @RepGusBilirakis in a letter to POTUS requesting that his Administration pursue a comprehensive strategy to combat the illicit opioid epidemic and classify illicit fentanyl and all its precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). pic.twitter.com/QWcvTQV0H9
— Mario Diaz-Balart (@MarioDB) December 28, 2022
Alongside Bilirakis and Scott, the letter is signed by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), as well as others.
