Cornyn hosts roundtable in Dallas on fentanyl crisis and bill cracking down on illegal pill presses

Seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn told a group of law enforcement officials, health care leaders and others during a roundtable discussion Wednesday at Parkland Health in Dallas. Other statistics, such as that the DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced pills in 2023, spilled out of his mouth as he addressed the crowd.

Another fact: Cartels are getting rich by illegally manufacturing and selling the opioid while “our children are dying from this terrible drug,” he said.

This is a conversation Cornyn has had many times, but he hopes the new legislation can help defeat the fentanyl crisis, which has plagued North Texas communities as documented in The Dallas Morning News‘ award-winning project “Deadly Fake”.

On August 1, Cornyn, Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) introduced the Combating Illicit Pill Presses Act, which aims to target pill presses that have become a critical part of the fentanyl supply chain. According to Cornyn’s office, cartels have gained access to the same type of pill presses that pharmaceutical companies and specialty pharmacies use to mass-produce counterfeit pills that are often indistinguishable from real drugs.

The bill, which would amend the Controlled Substances Act, would require pill presses to be etched with serial numbers in hopes that it would make it easier for law enforcement to crack down on those who use the machinery to produce deadly pills.

Cornyn said the bill is just one part of the work being done to address the ongoing fentanyl problem, pointing to other efforts officials have made, such as expanding access to fentanyl test strips and overdose-reversing medications, as well as providing training to the military on how to combat cartels.

“Obviously, we’re playing a losing game so far, but I’m hopeful that these bills are at least an incremental step in the right direction to begin to turn the tide on this horrible, horrible epidemic,” Cornyn said.

Melody Gardner, managing director of the North Texas Poison Center at Parkland Health, said the center has seen a 430% increase in the number of fentanyl-related calls over the past five years. She said there has also been a year-over-year increase in the number of positive fentanyl tests in Parkland’s emergency department over the same period.

Gardner called the data the “tip of the iceberg,” with only a fraction of cases being reported.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said his office is working in the courts and also directly with law enforcement agencies to combat the crisis.

Since the district attorney’s office began tracking cases in September 2022, there have been 1,457 fentanyl cases and nearly half have been resolved, he said. Creuzot highlighted recent cases, including when prosecutors secured a 30-year sentence in the first fentanyl trafficking case tried and sentenced in front of a Dallas County jury and another defendant who reached a plea deal and was sentenced to 25 years in prison after the overdose death of a teenage girl and overdoses of three other people.

“These convictions underscore the significant threat fentanyl poses to public health and safety,” he said. “We must continue to work together to educate the public about the risks associated with opioids and ensure we are doing everything we can to protect our communities from this dangerous and lethal drug.”

Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes said his department has seen the devastation fentanyl has had on North Texas, as FWPD responded to approximately 489 overdose calls last year, 80 of them fatal.

“We know it’s deadly, but I think people need to understand how indiscriminate fentanyl is,” Noakes said. “Regardless of demographics, socioeconomic status or zip code a person lives in, fentanyl affects a lot of lives and can affect any life.”

Noakes said laws like the proposed Combating Illicit Pill Presses Act and the law enacted last year that allows someone to be charged with murder if they knowingly manufacture or distribute fentanyl that results in death have been critical tools in working to get fentanyl and its dealers off the streets.

Along with officials, loved ones of victims who died from fentanyl poisoning have become advocates for educating others.

Amy Brewer of Duncanville and Stephanie Vaughn of Plano talked about how their daughters’ deaths impacted their families and how they are pushing for more resources to combat the epidemic.

Brewer and her husband Mark Garbade, whose 21-year-old daughter Marissa Ladatto died in 2022 after taking a pill that was a mix of Percocet and fentanyl, founded the nonprofit Marissa’s Voice to spread awareness of the drug and honor her memory.

Vaughn’s 16-year-old daughter, Sienna, died in February 2023 after taking a pill she didn’t know contained fentanyl.

Vaughn said that before Sienna’s death, she didn’t know much about fentanyl or its impact on the community she lived in. Now, she and her husband Ryan are also working throughout the community to raise awareness about the drug and prevent more deaths like their daughter’s.

“It can happen to good families,” she said. “It can happen to you. Never say, ‘He’s not my son.’”

At one point, Vaughn thanked Cornyn for wearing the bracelet Ryan gave him last year.

Cornyn smiled softly at her as she continued speaking, then lifted the cuff of his dress shirt to reveal the gray rubber bracelet bearing a reminder of what everyone in the room faces: “One pill can kill.”