Public Health Is Public Safety

Rep. Ayanna Pressley
Jan 30 · 2 min read

Without a doubt far too many families and communities have been deeply impacted by the opioid crisis. It is critical that we hold high-level traffickers and the pharmaceutical industry accountable and stem the tide of deadly substances flooding our communities.

As we work to take meaningful action to address this crisis we must ensure that we do not replicate the harmful policies of the war on drugs that destabilized families and communities. As the child of a father who was in and out of the prison system because of a drug addiction, I know firsthand how destabilizing broad brush stroke policies can be.

For generations we have been forced to make false choices between public health and public safety. Public health is public safety and it is through that lens that we make the critical investments necessary to meet the needs of every community destabilized by addiction without further criminalizing those who desperately need treatment and are not engaged in trafficking these harmful substances.

Today the House voted on The Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act. While I support the provisions of the bill that focus on trafficking, the bill as it stands does not course correct for some of the critical mistakes enshrined in the 2018 authorization. Data shows that more than 70% of those arrested under this law are Black and brown. Many are not trafficking large quantities of fentanyl. We must have a deliberate conversation about both the mandatory minimums embedded in this bill and the thresholds it establishes.

Respectfully, I understand that many of my colleagues share my concerns and hope to take up these issues in 15 months. I look forward to working together with my colleagues on that front. But today I cannot in good conscious vote affirmatively on this bill as it reads. We simply cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of our past or maintain a harmful status quo.

    Rep. Ayanna Pressley

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    Official account of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Proudly representing the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District.

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