Ohio OD deaths up 26%; Portman blames open border

Dec. 2—WASHINGTON D.C. — Senator Rob Portman discussed the record number of overdose deaths that have devastated families and communities across America during a conference call with the media Tuesday.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control, the nation witnessed the most drug overdose deaths in its history during a 12-month period. More than 100,000 people died from a drug overdose from April 2020 to April 2021. Portman said the pandemic has left people isolated from the world which led some individuals down the path of addiction and pointed to forced closures of addiction recovery groups to recovering addicts losing their sobriety.

"I'm talking about an epidemic within the pandemic," Portman said. "I'm talking about the surging epidemic of drug use and addiction that has fueled a record number of overdose deaths and threatens to get even worse — we see with Omicron the possibility of another variant coming and those public health challenges are real — this CDC report is shocking and should serve as a wake-up call to all of us."

Ohio overdoses are up 26% during the 12-month period while 46 states and the District of Columbia have seen an uptick in their rates as well. Portman says the 100,000 drug deaths per year are more than the deaths from gunshot wounds and car accidents combined.

Portman, who recently co-sponsored Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 3.0, highlighted supply and demand factors contributing to the spike, which is just three years removed from recording a 22% decrease in drug overdose deaths, the first such decline since 1990.

Portman noted the U.S. has been devastated by a growing supply of lethal synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, that have become the leading cause of overdose deaths in the country, blaming "the failure of this administration (Biden) to control our southern border for record levels of deadly fentanyl coming into our country."

Earlier this month, Portman released a statement on the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operational statistics, which show a 42% increase in fentanyl seizures at the southern border from September to October. He called for added security at the border, closer cooperation with the international community, and better enforcement of existing laws and for the passage of his bipartisan CARA 3.0 legislation to reduce demand by doubling down on proven treatment and recovery options.

"This is just the seizures, not the amount of drugs that are streaming across the border," Portman said. "Border agents tell me they believe the vast majority of drugs come in undetected. That's outrageous. Everybody, Republican and Democrat alike, say they are for technology. We should complete the technology along the border and help the border patrol do their important job, including keeping these deadly narcotics out of our communities."