Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer called Sunday on the Drug Enforcement Agency for help fighting the rise of opioid use and drug overdoses in the city.
He asked the agency to deploy one of four new special heroin enforcement teams to the state.
“They’re SWAT teams, they’re well-trained, they’re special agents, and they’ll work with our local police forces in New York, Long Island, and the suburbs to stop the heroin and the fentanyl from coming in.”
Schumer said he has allocated about $12.5 million in the 2017 budget to help the agency form these teams, but the proposal could still take several weeks to be approved.
Each team would consist of more than 40 members dedicated to fighting heroin trafficking, and they would be sent to areas designated by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The city is considered a major distribution hub of heroin, which some opioids mimic.
Health officials said there were more than 750 overdose deaths involving heroin last year.
(Source: NY1)
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One Response
Typical for Schumer. He has a long track record of being uninformed, and coming up with completely inane suggestions.
Drug dealing is a crime. Our judicial system has become softer on drug related crimes. And we have eliminated the death penalty for the really serious ones. Obama pardoned drug dealers for his last year in office, restoring some of the biggest ones to their original positions of leadership in their criminal pursuits. Why? Because they are black or other minorities. So much of what Schumer wants to fight is the Obama legacy.
Drug abuse and addiction is a a disease. It is not treated by detectives, police, or prosecutors. The leverage of the court system is useful in getting addicts and abusers engaged in treatment. But treatment is now awfully hard to find. Managed care, topped off by the cherry of Obamacare essentially eliminated access to residential treatment for most Americans. The number of rehabs is a fraction of what once existed. legalizing marijuana began a trend to perceive drug use as one’s constitutional right. The worst of the violent crimes committed by a drug addicted individual, especially by an underprivileged victim of inner city life are dismissed with nary a consequence, and actually rewards those for committing crimes on their way to sustaining their habits.
Schumer is oblivious to personal responsibility.
Picture the following scene. A black fellow burglarizes a home to support his heroin habit. The homeowner catches him in the act, and subdues him with brute force. Guess who gets arrested and incarcerated? Why? Assault, hate crime, etc. The burglar goes off scott free. This happens frequently, and is not a concocted story to make a point. But this is the justice system the way Schumer and similarly intellectually challenged Democrats want it. Fair? No. Rational? No. Moral? no. Effective? No.
Drug dealers with substantial rap sheets for such offenses should be fed to the hungry animals in the zoo. Addicts should be treated. And marijuana laws should reflect the abuse of chemical and its extensive negative effects. Has Schumer thought of legalizing heroin?