Apply to community boards ALBANIAN INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 66 ECEMBER 13-19, 2019 BTR
Action
Association
Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
is once again inviting Bronx residents
to make a difference in their community
by applying to join their local
community board. The Offi ce of the
Bronx Borough President will be accepting
applications for all 12 Bronx
community boards from city residents
who reside, work or have professional
or other signifi cant interests in the
borough.
“Participation on local community
boards can provide Bronx residents
with a forum to share with their
community their expertise and talents,”
stated Diaz. “There are great
things happening in the Bronx that involve
the participation of community
boards. It is important that community
residents participate in the decisions
that are building and revitalizing
our borough, and our community
boards are a great place to do so,” said
Diaz.
In addition, Diaz is encouraging
young people ages 16 and 17 to apply for
community board membership, as his
offi ce is working to ensure that there
is a least one youth member per community
board.
“I believe that the earlier young
people become engaged in community
affairs and interact with government
offi cials and agencies, the better
they will understand government and
become active leaders in their communities.
It is important to hear the
voices of our youth when planning for
our neighborhoods,” said the borough
president.
Applications are available online
at the borough president’s website at
https://on.nyc.gov/2DPrh2I. Applications
can also be received by calling
the community board offi ce at (718)
590-3913 or picking one up at your local
community board offi ce.
The deadline for submission of
applications for the next round of appointments
is February 7, 2020.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj and fellow Albanian Americans recently joined NYC Council
Speaker Corey Johnson, Alba Life Schools, the NYPD Illyrian Society and other
city councilmembers for the annual Albanian Independence celebration. The event
celebrated Albanian heritage and honored Albanians and Albanian Americans in attendance.
Photo courtesy of Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
One of the lesser reported
stories reported by the media
has been the extraordinary
push by the White House to respond
to the opioid crisis.
When President Trump
took offi ce in 2016, opioid
overdoses accounted for over
42,000 deaths, out of a total of
64,000 who died from all forms
of drug overdoses. In that year,
two million Americans had an
addiction to prescription and
illegal opioids. Deaths from
synthetic opioids increased by
72% from 2014 to 2016, caused a
daily death total of 175 per day.
It has been estimated that over
two million Americans suffered
from related addiction.
Over 300,000 overdose deaths
have occurred since 2000.
In 2015, the Drug Enforcement
Administration and CDC
issued nationwide alerts identifying
illicitly manufactured
fentanyl (IMF) as a threat. Beginning
in 2013, the distribution
of IMF increased to unprecedented
levels. Individual
states have reported increases
in fentanyl-involved overdose
deaths (fentanyl deaths). During
2013–2014, the number of
drug products obtained by law
enforcement that tested positive
for fentanyl (fentanyl submissions)
increased by 426%,
and synthetic opioid–involved
overdose deaths (excluding
methadone) increased by 79%
in the United States. Changes
in synthetic opioid–involved
overdose deaths among 27
states were highly correlated
with fentanyl submissions
but not correlated with fentanyl
prescribing. Eight highburden
states were identifi ed,
and complementary data indicate
increases in these states
are primarily attributable to
fentanyl, supporting the argument
that IMF is driving increases
in fentanyl deaths.
A Heritage Foundation
study describes the allure and
danger of fentanyl:
“The amount of fentanyl
necessary to produce its painkilling
effect is so small that
manufacturers can ship it in
ordinary packages such as envelopes
used for ordinary letters.
Cheap production isn’t
the only economic benefi t suppliers
have on their side. Fentanyl
is said to produce a better
high and be more addictive
and potent than heroin (50
to 100 times more powerful).
This poison isn’t affecting
only addicts. In some cases,
fi rst responders have inhaled
airborne fentanyl, resulting
in a contact overdose.”
The Washington Post called
this dilemma the ‘Obama Fentanyl
Failure’. “The fentanyl
crisis represents an extraordinary
public health challenge
— and requires an extraordinary
public health response…
experts wrote to six Obama
administration offi cials, including
the nation’s ‘drug czar’
and the chief of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The administration considered
the request but did
not act on it. The decision was
one in a series of missed opportunities,
oversights and
half-measures by federal offi -
cials who failed to grasp how
quickly fentanyl was creating
another — and far more fatal
— wave of the opioid epidemic.
In the span of a few short
years, fentanyl, a synthetic
painkiller 50 times more powerful
than heroin, became the
drug scourge of our time. Fentanyl
has played a key role in
reducing the overall life expectancy
for Americans.”
Who, or what, caused this
troubling situation, which
seems to have expanded so
rapidly?
Testifying before the
United States Senate Caucus
on International Narcotics
Control Caucus last year, U.S.
Customs and Immigration Enforcement
(ICE) Assistant Director
Mathew C. Allen stated:
“Illicit Fentanyl, Fentanyl
analogies, and their chemical
precursors are most often produced
in China. From China,
these substances are shipped
primarily through mail carriers
directly to the U.S., or
through TCOs in Mexico, Canada,
and the Caribbean. Once
in the Western Hemisphere,
fentanyl or its analogues are
prepared and then mixed into
heroin supply, pr pressed into
pill form, then moved to the illicit
U.S. market where dependency
on prescription opioids
ad heroin remains at epidemic
proportions. In some cases,
traffi ckers have shipped industrial
pill pressed from
China to the United States
to operate fentanyl pill press
mills domestically. Mexican
TCOs also receive shipments
of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues
and their precursors
directly from China. There
is strong evidence that large
shipments of fentanyl move
from China to Mexico and the
shipments are not opened until
they are within the United
States. Mexican cartels have
seized upon this business opportunity
because the profi t
potential of synthetic opiods
and have invested in growing
their share of the market. Because
of its low dosage range
and potency, one kilogram of
fentanyl purchased in China
for $3,000-$5,000 can generate
upwards of $1.5 million in revenue
on the illicit market…”
In October of 2017, the new
White House declared the
opioid crisis a “public health
emergency.” The declaration
was designed to expand access
to telemedicine services;
appoint specialists; and shift
some resources from HIV/
AIDS programs to those dealing
with substance abuse
In 2018, President Trump
unveiled an ‘Initiative to Stop
Opioid Abuse.’ The measure
involved:
As of October 2018, securing
$6 billion in new funding
over a two-year window to
fi ght opioid abuse.
To curb over-prescription,
implementing a Safer Prescribing
Plan designed to cut
opioid prescription fi lls by
one-third within three years.
Increasing security at land
borders, ports of entry, and
waterways.
Passing the SUPPORT Act,
the largest legislative package
addressing a single drug crisis
in history.
The White House notes
that the number of fi rst-time
heroin users ages 12 and older
fell by more than 50 percent in
July 2017. Between President
Trump’s Inauguration and
October 2018, high-dose opioid
prescriptions fell by 16 percent.
In July 2017, the Department
of Justice shut down the
country’s biggest Darknet distributor
of drugs. That same
Fiscal Year, U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
took more than 2,300 pounds
of fentanyl off the streets. In
terms of helping those struggling
with addiction, there
has been a 20 percent increase
in young adults receiving
outpatient treatment. And in
2017, America had an increase
in the number of patients age
12 and older with illicit druguse
disorders being treated at
specialty facilities and private
provider offi ces.
On January 10, 2018, President
Trump signed into law
the “Interdict Bill,”
The measure authorizes $9
million to purchase enhanced
tools and hire more personnel
to deal with the crisis;
provides additional chemical
screening devices available
to detect opioid traffi c; and requires
analysis and data interpretation
of relevant data.
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