A Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow fentanyl victims and their families to seek justice from China.
Texas Rep. Lance Gooden has brought the ‘‘Justice Against Sponsors of Illicit Fentanyl Act of 2023’’ to the House floor, which would allow civilians to seek justice from “persons, entities, or countries that knowingly or recklessly contribute” to the trafficking of fentanyl.
“This legislation is a vital step toward holding nations accountable for their role in enabling the trafficking of fentanyl into our country,” said Gooden. “By providing victims and their families the ability to bring suit against foreign actors, we are sending a clear message that the United States will not tolerate any nation that contributes to this devastating drug crisis.”
This comes as teen overdose deaths have reportedly risen across the U.S., according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
“This is very concerning because in other subgroups of the population, when overdose death rates start to increase exponentially after having been flat, they tend to continue to do so for a while,” said Joseph Friedman, an addiction researcher and MD/Ph.D. candidate in the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program.
Despite evidence showing that the People’s Republic of China is the main producer of illegal fentanyl, there is no legal framework in place for Americans to pursue legal action against the communist government.
“A foreign state shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in any case in which money damages are sought against a foreign state for physical injury to person or property or death occurring in the United States,” read the bill’s text.
Fentanyl manufacture frequently starts in China with the creation of the drug’s precursor ingredients. These chemicals are then transported to Mexico, where fentanyl is produced, before being distributed by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels throughout that country.
“These precursor chemicals from companies within the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are the foundation of the fentanyl,” said DEA administrator Anne Milgram during a February Senate hearing. “The use of CMLOs [Chinese Money Laundering Organizations] by the cartels simplifies the money laundering process and streamlines the purchase of precursor chemicals utilized in manufacturing drugs.”
