Fentanyl

Deb and Ray Cullen, of Shippensburg, Pa., center and right, show a photo of their son, Zachary, in the office of their congressman, GOP Rep. John Joyce, left. Zachary died nine months ago at 23 of a drug overdose involving cocaine laced with illicit fentanyl. The Cullens traveled to the U.S. Capitol on May 25, 2023, to watch the House vote on the HALT Fentanyl Act. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

Fentanyl-related drugs permanently made criminal under bill passed by U.S. House

BY: - May 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation Thursday in an effort to curb staggering overdose deaths from illegal fentanyl substances that are illicitly produced and up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The HALT Fentanyl Act, passed on a 289-133 vote with 74 Democratic votes and support from the Biden administration, would […]

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, Sept. 23, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Mexican cartel targeted by Biden administration in multiple fentanyl indictments

BY: - April 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — As illicit fentanyl seizures reach record numbers, the Biden administration on Friday announced “government-wide efforts” to counter narcotics trafficking, including criminally charging members of the Sinaloa Cartel operating out of Mexico, and sanctioning Chinese producers of the chemicals used to make the synthetic drug. The Department of Justice unsealed indictments alleging fentanyl trafficking, […]

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, Sept. 23, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Funding needed to curb fentanyl smuggling at ports of entry, administration officials say

BY: - February 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — Biden administration officials at a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday on the deadly illicit drug fentanyl said they need more money for better screening technology at ports of entry at the Southern border. They also said the U.S. needs to keep pressure on China due to its role in the sale of chemicals used […]

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, argues with the chairman during a hearing about the Mueller Reporter in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, June 10, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis

BY: - February 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds of […]

Lobbyists in the halls of the South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Legislative roundup: Taxes and tribes, feedlots and lithium

BY: - January 27, 2023

PIERRE — Things really picked up at the Capitol this week, and deadlines had something to do with that. Lawmakers had free reign to submit as many bills as they pleased until 11 a.m. on Thursday, which meant dozens of bills dropped just before lunch that day. Check the list here. Each lawmaker can file […]

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, Sept. 23, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP takes aim at fake pills containing deadly fentanyl sold on social media

BY: - January 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — On a June 2020 morning, Amy Neville entered her son’s bedroom to wake him for an orthodontist appointment. Fourteen-year-old Alex didn’t wake up. He died of fentanyl poisoning after taking a counterfeit pill he bought from someone he met on Snapchat, Neville told GOP lawmakers Wednesday during a roundtable discussion of the role […]

Aerial photo of the Capitol building in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Bill legalizing fentanyl testing strips passes House committee

BY: - January 25, 2023

A bill that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips in South Dakota passed the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday with a 11-2 vote. Fentanyl test strips are small bits of paper that can detect the presence of the synthetic opioid, which is sometimes laced with other drugs and has a high mortality rate. Under current law, the […]

An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Drug crimes, violent crimes drop for 2021 in South Dakota

BY: - December 30, 2022

Drug arrests have dropped 25% in South Dakota over the past five years. That’s one of the major takeaways from “Crime In South Dakota 2021,” the annual report from the state Attorney General’s Office that aims to compile arrest reports from all state law enforcement agencies. The 2021 report includes data from 101 agencies, representing […]