The emergence of rainbow-colored, candy-shaped fentanyl pills means the overdose crisis is "going to get much, much worse before it gets better" and that means the U.S.-Mexico border must be shut down, Rep. Jerry Carl told Newsmax on Wednesday.
"This administration has got to get serious," the Alabama Republican commented on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "We've got people flooding across the border. They all have backpacks. They all have drugs."
Even the Border Patrol is limited on what it can do, said Carl, as "they can't use the drug-sniffing dogs, because it will kill them if they inhale this deadly fentanyl."
The candy-shaped pills are a particular concern because that means the deadly drug is in a form that children are comfortable with, he added, pointing out that a tiny amount of the substance is deadly.
Carl said he carries an illustration around with him to try to teach parents and students that a packet of fentanyl that is the size of a packet of artificial sweetener "will kill 250 grown men," or even "the entire Congress, the House and Senate."
"So when you're talking about fentanyl, you're talking about an agent that we have no control of," Carl said.
There are some strict penalties starting to happen on state levels, but still, what's being seized at the border is a "small fraction" of what's entering the country.
"It's one death every nine minutes in this country, 300 fentanyl overdoses," Carl said.
Meanwhile, the congressman said he's glad that Democrats are starting to pay attention to the crisis after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., addressed the issue of the rainbow fentanyl pills, calling it "nothing short of despicable by these drug dealers" to target children with the drug.
"It only took them 18-19 months" to become concerned about the border and drugs coming across, said Carl. "They don't want to admit there's an open border, and so much of these drugs are coming across. If this was something like a vaccine, one person dying every nine minutes from the lack of a vaccine, [you'd] hear a lot more about it."
Meanwhile, with Halloween approaching, Carl warned that parents should be vigilant about where their kids are trick-or-treating, and to go through their candy when they return home.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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