Former President Donald Trump vowed to cease fentanyl from pouring into the US and stated Vice President Kamala Harris has the other method.
“Kamala is so radical she even desires to legalize fentanyl,” Trump stated Sept. 29 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
A day earlier in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Trump went additional: “She’s so radical she even desires to legalize fentanyl immediately.”
We checked out Harris’ report, together with her time as vice chairman and 2024 presidential candidate, and she or he has not referred to as to “legalize” fentanyl.
The very first thing to know is that fentanyl is authorized as a ache administration drug when prescribed by a health care provider. However possession of fentanyl with no prescription or trafficking of the drug is a criminal offense.
Fentanyl is a Schedule 2 drug, which suggests it has an accepted medical use when prescribed or administered appropriately however has excessive abuse potential. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated fentanyl is “about 100 occasions stronger” than morphine.
The Biden-Harris administration proposed making fentanyl-related substances a Schedule 1 drug, which might imply stiffer penalties for possession and distribution.
Illicit fentanyl is commonly smuggled into the nation by means of authorized ports of entry, PolitiFact has reported. The federal Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse additionally say some drug sellers combine fentanyl with different medication, similar to heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to extend efficiency, which may improve the dangers of a deadly overdose.
There have been 107,543 complete drug overdose deaths in 2023, an estimated 74,702 of which concerned fentanyl, current authorities information reveals.
A Trump spokesperson stated the previous president was referring to Harris’ response to a 2019 questionnaire by the American Civil Liberties Union by which she stated she supported federally decriminalizing drug possession for private use. The query, and her reply, didn’t point out fentanyl.
Trump stated that Harris desires to “legalize” fentanyl, however the ACLU questionnaire requested about “decriminalization.” These phrases have totally different meanings.
Decriminalization implies that somebody wouldn’t face legal expenses for unlawful possession, however might face penalties, similar to a high-quality. When folks use “decriminalization” with out specifics, it usually refers to possessing a small quantity of a drug for private use. There might nonetheless be guidelines after legalizing a drug, similar to solely adults should buy it.
Harris instructed the ACLU she was in favor of legalization, however singled out marijuana
When she responded to the ACLU questionnaire about legal justice points, Harris was a U.S. senator from California working within the Democratic presidential main.
The 2019 ACLU survey prefaced a query about medication with a dialogue of racial disparities in drug arrests and incarceration charges. The ACLU wrote that “the opioid disaster has reaffirmed the failure of criminalization,” and “full decriminalization with applicable therapy responses might tackle this stark racial injustice and scale back incarceration.”
The query stated: “Since drug use is best addressed as a public well being difficulty (by means of therapy and different programming), will you help the decriminalization on the federal stage of all drug possession for private use?”
Harris marked the “sure” field. She added a written reply centered on marijuana.
“I’ve co-sponsored the Marijuana Justice Act, which might legalize marijuana and imagine it’s long gone time that we modified our outdated and discriminatory criminalization of marijuana. And all through my profession, I’ve supported treating drug dependancy as a public well being difficulty, specializing in rehabilitation over incarceration for drug-related offenses. Each of my Again-on-Monitor packages, made it a precedence to attach people with substance abuse therapy as a part of diversion and re-entry programming, along with employment,” Harris wrote.
The Harris marketing campaign didn’t remark for this fact-check. However earlier than the Sept. 10 Harris-Trump debate in Philadelphia, Fox Information requested Harris marketing campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler about her reply to the ACLU questionnaire. The reporter didn’t point out her reply on medication, however referred to transgender surgical procedure for migrants in federal custody and “quite a lot of different issues that have been fairly far left.”
Tyler replied, “That questionnaire isn’t what she is proposing, it isn’t what she is working on.” Tyler didn’t point out medication particularly, however stated that on immigration she supported the bipartisan border safety invoice.
The Trump marketing campaign additionally pointed to feedback by CNN KFile reporter Andrew Kaczynski, who surfaced Harris’ responses on the ACLU questionnaire. Kaczynski stated in a Sept. 10 interview that Harris’ reply on decriminalization raised questions.
“Now, what would that imply? Will it imply the federal, all drug possession, that is not simply marijuana, which she alluded to in her reply to this query, however it additionally would imply … fentanyl, crack, you already know, cocaine.”
Harris opened herself as much as these questions by checking “sure” for decriminalizing all medication. One other 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, had an analogous place on marijuana however, in contrast to Harris, checked “no.”
Ryan wrote: “No, I don’t help the decriminalization on the federal stage of all drug possession for private use. Nonetheless, I do help the decriminalization and legalization of Marijuana.”
What Harris has stated about fentanyl
Trump stated Harris “desires” to legalize fentanyl as president.
We discovered no statements from her marketing campaign or vice presidency to help this declare. Against this, Harris has referred to as for extra enforcement. The Biden-Harris administration launched an opioid-related plan July 31 that “would completely regulate fentanyl-related substances as ‘Schedule I’ medication — subjecting the distribution and possession of those medication to heightened penalties.
In July 2023, Harris met with a group of state attorneys common about efforts to disrupt the fentanyl provide chain. A White Home abstract of the assembly stated they mentioned efforts to “to crack down on fentanyl trafficking and broaden entry to care.”
A Harris TV advert in August stated she “will rent hundreds extra border brokers and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”
Harris praised the border safety invoice that Trump opposed at a Sept. 19 occasion with Oprah Winfrey in Michigan. “It could have allowed us to stem the move of fentanyl,” Harris stated.
In a Sept. 27 speech on the border in Arizona, Harris referred to as fentanyl “a scourge on our nation.”
“So, as president, I’ll make it a high precedence to disrupt the move of fentanyl into the US,” Harris stated. “I’ll guarantee we goal the whole international fentanyl provide chain, as a result of we should materially and sustainably disrupt the move of illicit fentanyl into our nation.”
We requested drug coverage consultants whether or not Harris’ feedback help that she “desires to legalize fentanyl.” No consultants stated they seen Harris as desirous to legalize fentanyl.
“I’ve seen no proof that Harris has spoken about legalizing fentanyl,” stated Dr. Sally Satel, a lecturer on the Yale College Faculty of Drugs and senior fellow on the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow within the overseas coverage program at Brookings Establishment, a assume tank, stated Trump’s declare is “preposterous.”
Felbab-Brown stated Harris has constantly referred to as for prosecuting unlawful legal teams and suppliers whereas supporting evidence-based therapy and the usage of Naloxone, a drugs that reverses overdoses from opioids similar to fentanyl.
As for the ACLU questionnaire, “favoring coverage A for one drug doesn’t indicate that one should favor coverage A for all medication,” stated Jonathan Caulkins, Carnegie Mellon College public coverage professor. “So answering a query about all medication by reference to coverage towards a single drug is ducking the query.”
In an interview on an “All of the Smoke” podcast launched Sept. 30, Harris spoke in favor of not imprisoning folks for private marijuana use.
“I really feel strongly folks shouldn’t be going to jail for smoking weed,” Harris stated. “We have to legalize it and cease criminalizing this habits. This isn’t a brand new place for me.”
Our ruling
Trump stated Harris “even desires to legalize fentanyl.”
Trump spoke within the current tense as whether it is on her presidential to-do record. She hasn’t stated that.
Trump was referring to a 2019 ACLU questionnaire that requested presidential main candidates whether or not they supported decriminalization “of all drug possession for private use.”
Harris marked the “sure” field and wrote a solution on legalizing marijuana. This invitations questions on whether or not she meant all medication or simply marijuana. However Harris’ report as vice chairman and the Democratic presidential nominee reveals she doesn’t need to legalize fentanyl.
Harris has continued on this presidential marketing campaign to say she desires to decriminalize marijuana possession, however has additionally stated she desires to halt the move of illicit fentanyl.
We fee this declare False.
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