FORT WORTH, Texas — On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a roundtable discussion in Forth Worth with law enforcement and families who have been affected by fentanyl.
The governor was joined by families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses and discussed the ways state and local law enforcement are working to stop the deadly drug from entering Texas communities.
“This crisis isn't unique to Texas – it's a crisis plaguing our entire country,” Abbott said in a statement. “Communities from coast to coast are mired in this tragedy and we must take action. The families joining me today are helping us put a face to the stark statistics surrounding the fentanyl crisis, and I am grateful to them for sharing their stories to shed light on this horrific tragedy.”
According to the governor’s office, in 2021, there were more than 1,335 fentanyl-related deaths in Texas. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics documented an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during a 12-month period that ended in April 2021 – up 28.5% from the same period the year before.
The data also show estimated overdose deaths from opioids, including synthetics like fentanyl, increased to 75,673 in the same 12-month period, up from 56,064 the year before.
The discussion also included a conversation about the influx of counterfeit pills and contaminated drugs in communities that are causing many individuals to unknowingly ingest fentanyl, leading to a rise in poisoning and overdoses, Abbott’s office said.
In July, Gov. Abbott signed bipartisan Senate Bill 768 into law to increase criminal penalties for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl in Texas.
The governor blamed the fentanyl issue on border security issues.
Meanwhile, hundreds of 32-foot-tall steel panels are headed to Texas to help build Gov. Abbott's state-funded border wall.
The Texas Tribune reports the panels were at a federal construction site in California. Texas applied and received the leftover federal property, as state officials didn't have to disclose to federal officials what they planned to do with it.
With the 1,700 donated panels, Texas can erect a little more than a mile of border barrier. So far, the State has dedicated more than $1 billion to the project and completed one mile of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley.
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