As part of marking "International Overdose Awareness Day," Congressman Chris Smith addressed individuals, families, friends and supporters of those whose lives have been torn apart by drug addiction at the "One Voice Initiative" event hosted by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, the Mercer Council on Alcoholism & Drug Addiction and the Prevention Coalition of Mercer County held this week at Robbinsville Community Park.

The oppressive heat at the outdoor event did not impede the spirit of attendees, as Congressman Smith joined Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri, Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried and State Sen. Linda Greenstein, along with Robbinsville Police Chief Chris Nitti, Hamilton Police Chief James Stevens and Trenton Police Director Pedro Medina. Also speaking were advocate Mark Manning and recovered addict Adrienne Petta of the Mercer Council. Medina and Manning, who both lost sons to addictions, joined Petta in recounting their stories about addictions. Invocation was offered by Pastor Dan Greco of Life Tree Community Church, and a stirring rendition of the National Anthem was sung by Donovan Black of the Westminster Choir College in Princeton.

WATCH SLIDE SHOW OF EVENT ABOVE

Below are excerpts of remarks by Rep. Smith at the event:

Thank you Mayor Fried, Mercer County Prosecutor Onofri, the police and first responders and the Prevention Coalition of Mercer County for the extraordinary work you are doing to mitigate and hopefully end the opioid crisis—and all injury and death attributable to overdose.

Thank you for your compassionate and effective interventions that emphasize treatment like the Community Addiction Recovery Effort (CARE).

The agony suffered by the victims and their surviving families is a pain and grief that crushes.

And the loss of life is staggering.  According to the CDC, in 2016, opioids in general killed 42,249 people nationwide, 1,584 in New Jersey and 45 here in Mercer County.

Illicit fentanyl alone killed more Americans in 2016 than any other drug—and the trend continued in 2017 with about 29,000 overdose deaths.

Next week—September 6th—I will chair a congressional hearing on China’s infamous role in the fentanyl crisis.  According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), “the vast majority” of the deadly illicit fentanyl “is manufactured in China”.

My witnesses include top officials from the Department of State and (DEA) and other experts in the field.

My committee will probe whether the Chinese government is taking serious steps to stop the export of Fentanyl, or if Beijing’s indifference—or worse—is poisoning to death tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Fentanyl and its analogues as you know are cheap, easy to produce and their extreme potency means they can be shipped through international postal or other shipping services.

Last June, I supported House passage of the Synthetics and Overdose Prevention Act, a bill that requires the U.S. Postal Service (as private carriers like UPS and Fed-Ex are currently required to do) to obtain advance electronic data (AED)—detailed info on the shipper and addressee and other data—empowering Customs and Border Protection to target fentanyl and other illegal drug shipments.  

Earlier this year, I strongly supported the Omnibus Appropriations Act, a new law that provides almost $4 billion—the largest investment ever—to fight opioid abuse.

A new $1 billion grant program for state opioid response was created by the legislation.

And another new initiative just passed the House—the Support for Patients and Communities Act—includes several Medicaid, Medicare and public health reforms to combat the opioid crisis.

As we light a candle today in memory of a lost or recovering addict, let us be inspired and motivated knowing that with awareness of overdose comes the responsibility and the duty to act decisively and effectively. 

Thank you for your commitment—past, present and future—to act and for your empathy and compassion.