BY SAM LEDOUX
Espanola City Councilor

Editor’s note: This letter has not been fact-checked by the Los Alamos Reporter

Anyone who lives in a community impacted heavily by the opioid epidemic can tell you that the rise of fentanyl is making lives in our community dramatically worse. The ability to mass produce this drug at rates that could’ve never even had been imagined by heroin has caused prices to fall through the floor. At one of our city council meetings Police Chief Mizel Garcia informed us that the price of a single pill of fentanyl has fallen below a dollar. This drug is cheaper than your morning cup of coffee. Whether you are for more harm reduction or enforcement, it has to be understood that a product this cheap and abundant is almost impossible to control. Us in local governments need every possible tool available to tackle this crisis. 

This is why I am asking the County Commissions of both Rio Arriba and Santa Fe County to please consider amending their sanctuary county policies to make an exception for individuals who are being charged with drug related charges. It is no secret that the vast majority of these drugs are coming in internationally through organized crime efforts. Given the fact that our police and justice system are absolutely overwhelmed and understaffed right now, being able to try and redirect some of these cases to ICE or the DEA and through the federal justice system may help alleviate that pressure as well as provide much quicker and more tangible consequences to these dealers. Particularly if there is an executive order from the new administration reforming the asylum seeking process. 

I can understand the passion for the immigrant population who came to this country seeking a better life, and the frustration felt by those who wish to seek reform to make the immigration process easier. However, I think all of us can agree that none of us have sympathy for the criminals who are taking advantage of our domestic disagreements on this issue and using our policies to find ways to deal drugs. Organized criminal organizations will find every loophole they can in our legal system to give them an advantage in their black market. Making this exception will provide a much needed tool to try and control this epidemic that is killing an entire generation. Let us not let the national political noise impact our ability to protect our constituents and help make our communities a safer place to live.