U.S. Senator James Lankford, joined by U.S. Senators John Cornyn, Jon Ossoff, and Kyrsten Sinema have introduced legislation which instructs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to research the development of equipment which helps law enforcement detect fentanyl and other drugs.
The Detection Equipment and Technology Evaluation to Counter the Threat (DETECT) of Fentanyl and Xylazine Act sets up a program framework within DHS’ Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). It would then carry out the research, development, testing, evaluation, and cost-benefit analysis for drug detection equipment.
“For anyone outside of the Washington, DC beltway, there is no doubt that the border is in chaos,” said Lankford. “Besides a record number of illegal border crossers being released into the country with no idea who they are, where they are from, or where they are going, the crisis has also resulted in massive amounts of fentanyl coming into our country, which has been deadly to many communities across the US. Sadly, Oklahoma is no stranger to the terrible impact of fentanyl. We are calling on DHS to stop illegal immigration and develop a new way to detect, stop, and investigate fentanyl trafficking into the US. This is one step in stopping the chaos, but one that will have a huge impact on our communities and families.”
The mission is to make the equipment portable, separate complex mixtures into component parts to enable detection, and using A.I. and other learning technologies to predict whether a substance is a controlled substance analogue or other new psychoactive substance not yet included in a law enforcement reference library.
