Ted Cruz Discusses Half-Sister's Death to Explain Drug Agenda

Ted Cruz explained his agenda for battling the heroin epidemic in the country by discussing the crack abuse of his older half-sister, who later died of an overdose of pills.

"I still remember my father and me driving up to get Miriam out of that crack house to try to convince her that she needed to be a mom to my nephew, Joey," the Texas senator told the audience at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. "She wasn't willing to listen.

"She was not willing to change the path she was on. She was angry."

Her son found her dead about six years ago, Cruz said.

"This is an epidemic," he said. "We need leadership to solve it." He called for state and local substance-abuse programs to play a critical role in the effort — but also for a secured border.

"Mexican cartels are smuggling heroin into this country," Cruz said. "We know how to secure the borders. What is missing is the political will to do it.

"And as president, I will secure the border," he added. "We will end this deluge of drugs that is flowing over our southern border and that is killing Americans across this country."

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