HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued the following statement in support of Governor Wolf’s announcement today that synthetic fentanyl-related substances will now be classified as Schedule I drugs, making them illegal substances.
“Governor Wolf’s action today is an important step for Pennsylvanians as we confront the number one public health and public safety crisis facing our Commonwealth – the heroin and opioid epidemic.”
“This epidemic is my top priority as Attorney General. Every day we’re losing on average 15 Pennsylvanians to the crisis. In 2017, my office arrested on average nearly 5 drug dealers a day. Our arrests of doctors and others for illegally diverting prescription drugs are up 72 percent. Our national investigation with 41 Attorneys General of the pharmaceutical industry for their conduct is ongoing and active.”
“I’ve seen first-hand the horrible effects of fentanyl — from my agents who came in contact with it during a raid in Philadelphia and needed to be revived with Naloxone, to the extraordinary number of lives lost after using heroin laced with fentanyl or carfentanyl. It’s devastating. The Governor’s action to classify synthetic fentanyl-related drugs as a Schedule I is much needed and appreciated by those of us in law enforcement who combat this crisis every day. I thank him for his leadership.”
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