Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell gains support for anti-fentanyl bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has obtained support from the Spokane police chief and other Washington leaders for her Stop Smuggling Illicit Synthetic Drugs on U.S. Transportation Networks Act of 2024.

“Drug traffickers should not be allowed to exploit the U.S. transportation system to smuggle fentanyl and precursor chemicals to make illicit synthetic drugs,” Cantwell said in a Sept. 26 press release announcing the bill, also known as SB 5284.

If passed, the bill would create inspection strategies to stop drug smuggling by commercial aircraft, railroads, vehicles and ships by supporting state, local and tribal local law enforcement and deploying next-generation non-intrusive detection technologies. It would also increase inspections at ports of entry into the U.S. Cantwell worked with Jon Tester, D-Montana, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada and Ben Ray Lujan, D-New Mexico, in authoring the bill.

“Our bill equips federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement with the tools they need to curb drug smuggling by accelerating the development of non-intrusive technologies to inspect our commercial aircraft, trucks, trains, and ships — while boosting resources to deploy this technology and drug-sniffing dogs, improving forensic science at crime labs, and building a better system to share intelligence and information between federal authorities and the private sector,” Cantwell said in the press release.

Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall, Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste and Jonathan Weiner, executive director of the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a specially designated drug prevention, treatment, education, training and enforcement region in Washington state, have all expressed support for SB 5284.

“The infiltration of fentanyl into the United States has become untenable,” said Cole-Tindall. “We need to make this as difficult as possible for drug traffickers every step of the way.”

If passed into law, the bill would direct the Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a comprehensive strategy to examine the U.S. transportation network and ports of entry to prevent transport of illicit synthetic drugs. It would also enhance the inspection of private and commercial aircraft, railroads, commercial vehicles and maritime vessels through non-intrusive methods such as K-9s to detect illegal drugs. It would support the development of technology, including artificial intelligence, to help identify fentanyl and other opioids and add point-of-entry drug detections at border crossings and other entries into the country. Finally, it would improve support for law enforcement workforce development and improve data sharing to prevent drug trafficking.

“This critical legislation addresses the urgent need to combat the trafficking of dangerous synthetic drugs that threaten our communities. By enhancing our combined law enforcement capabilities across the country and improving coordination across transportation networks, this act will protect individuals and communities from the devastating impacts of substance abuse. We can build a safer environment and future locally and nationally with the thoughtful application and funding provided by this legislation,” said Hall.

Cantwell was first elected in 2001 and is running for reelection, facing challenger, Dr. Raul Garcia, a Republican, in the November election.