01/08/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/08/2025 12:37
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan bill, backed by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, to help combat the fentanyl epidemic was recently signed into law by President Biden. The Detection Equipment and Technology Evaluation to Counter the Threat of (DETECT) Fentanyl and Xylazine Act empowers law enforcement with research, information, and technologies to find and eliminate dangerous drugs infiltrating communities in New Hampshire and across the country. Senator Hassan, a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, helped advance this legislation through the Senate.
"Fentanyl and other drugs have devastated communities across New Hampshire," said Senator Hassan. "This bipartisan legislation will help ensure that law enforcement officials have the tools that they need to better detect and crack down on illegal deadly drugs such as fentanyl and xylazine. I am glad that the President has signed this bill into law, and I will continue to work to support law enforcement officials as they protect our communities."
Senator Hassan has led efforts to stop drug trafficking and support communities devastated by the fentanyl crisis. In September, Senator Hassan reintroduced bipartisan legislation to curb the spread of rapidly evolving synthetic drugs by allowing the Drug Enforcement Administration to restrict and penalize substances that have a substantially similar chemical structure and effect on the body as fentanyl. Senator Hassan and colleagues' FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which targets the illicit fentanyl supply chain and will impose sanctions on fentanyl traffickers, was signed into law last year. Senator Hassan also developed and helped pass into law the END FENTANYL Act, which helps Customs and Border Protection crack down on fentanyl trafficking at the border.
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