Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently re-introduced the POWER Act to equip law enforcement officials with screening devices to detect fentanyl.
The "Providing Officers with Electronic Resources Act" is a bi-partisan effort co-sponsored by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The legislation was first introduced in 2018.
Brown said in a press conference Wednesday that his bill would help state and local law enforcement analyze potentially harmful substances through packaging. He hopes it would eliminate a backlog of drug testing results.
“Puts a huge strain on these labs. Agencies have to wait months sometimes for results,” Brown says. “That means delays in investigations and prosecutions as officers work to get these drugs off our streets.”
The devices would also identify substances based on a library of thousands of compounds that would be categorized within the device.
Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area director Derek Siegel says fentanyl is being mixed with more drugs, so the need is imminent.
“Now we’re starting to see fentanyl almost in equal amounts fixed with cocaine overdose deaths in Ohio,” Siegel says. “So now officers are even more exposed. When they think they’re dealing with cocaine or cocaine trafficking, there’s also fentanyl contained in those drugs.”
Funds to purchase the devices would be dispersed through a one-time grant.
