Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the following statement on his “NO” vote against the HALT Fentanyl Act.  

“As a pastor, I’ve sat with families as they’ve struggled with the anguish of a loved one suffering from addiction. I’ve seen how that anguish is even worse when that loved one is swept up in the legal system and denied the treatment they desperately need.

“I’ve fought for aggressive action to combat the fentanyl crisis including pushing for detection efforts to prevent fentanyl from entering our country in the first place. However, I’m voting “NO” on this legislation because we cannot jail our way out of this crisis.

“To me, this legislation repeats the mistakes of the failed War on Drugs, which turned the United States into the mass incarceration capital of the world without addressing the underlying causes of addiction or getting drugs out of our communities. The U.S. prison population increased from under 250,000 in 1975 to 1.3 million today, and nearly 2 million people after you include jails. I’ve pastored for decades in communities hollowed out by the War on Drugs; my “NO” vote today is informed by my years of counseling children who have an incarcerated parent and serving communities that will never fully recover.

“I’m deeply committed to fighting the opioid epidemic but an incarceration-only approach will only cause more harm. We must invest in law enforcement, healthcare, and treatment to truly grapple with the root causes of this crisis. I cannot vote for ineffective and harmful policy.”