Fentanyl, opioids: What are the 2024 Republican candidates’ policies?

(NewsNation) — Most Americans want tighter control of opioids to deal with the burgeoning drug crisis in the country, with a recent Morning Consult survey revealing voters of different parties supporting solutions that range from greater surveillance at the southern border to more robust treatment options for addiction.

Fentanyl continues to steal the lives of Americans across the nation. Around 1,500 Americans die every week at the hands of opioids including fentanyl, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Meanwhile, a September report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found overdoses involving cocaine increased nearly five times from 2011 to 2021. Non-opioid-related cocaine deaths also increased, though at a much slower rate than overdoses involving cocaine mixed with opioids.

The Brookings Institute reported the majority of fentanyl is seized at official border crossings from people crossing legally.

Ahead of the 2024 election, NewsNation is committed to covering the issues that matter most to voters so they can make the most informed choices possible at the polls. To that end, we have broken down the political views of each candidate in our voter guide.

So, what are leading Republican contenders proposing to alleviate the opioid crisis?

Here’s a look at the policy positions of the 2024 Republican candidates on the issue of the opioid and fentaly crisis:

Donald Trump

• The former president said he would “impose a total naval embargo on cartels” 
• Designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations
• Order the Department of Defense to “inflict maximum damage” on cartel leadership and operations and seek a death penalty eligibility for cartel members and traffickers
• Permanently designate fentanyl as a federally controlled substance
• Threaten China with “a steep price” unless they work to end the export of fentanyl’s chemical precursors
• Create partnerships to encourage companies to provide job opportunities and skills training to people recovering from addiction
• Expand federal support for faith-based counseling, treatment and recovery programs

Ron DeSantis

• The Florida governor says he’s “going to use the U.S. military to go after the Mexican drug cartels.”
• He said those suspected of smuggling drugs across the border will end up “stone cold dead” under his leadership.
• Enhanced penalties in Florida for the sale of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of substance abuse treatment facilities and increased the mandatory minimum sentence for fentanyl trafficking.
• Last year, DeSantis announced a network of medical-assisted addiction care in Florida called Coordinated Opioid Recovery. 

Nikki Haley

• The former South Carolina governor supports the deployment of U.S. military personnel to Mexico to combat the drug cartels and the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
• Would push to cut off trade relations with Beijing until the flow of fentanyl in the U.S. is halted

Vivek Ramaswamy

• The biotech entrepreneur accused Mexico’s leader of treating drug cartels as his “sugar daddy” and says that if he is elected president, “there will be a new daddy in town”
• Describes the fentanyl epidemic as “poisonings” and “closer to bioterrorism” at the third Republican debate
• Suggests using military force to “annihilate the Mexican drug cartels”

Chris Christie

• In July, the former New Jersey governor said he would deploy National Guard troops to the southern border to combat drug trafficking.
• He has vowed to “end” the drug war if elected president. During a CNN town hall, Christie said he wants to focus on “treatment” in addition to using the National Guard to lower drug supply into the U.S.
• In 2017, Christie chaired the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. He has spoken openly about his longtime friend who died alone with empty bottles of Percocet.

Asa Hutchinson

• The former Arkansas governor proposed murder charges for those accused of supplying fatal fentanyl in a Fox News opinion piece. 
• He previously said there needs to be federal action to curb the flow of illegal fentanyl into the United States because it is killing so many people, WMUR reported.
• Having served as a former head of the DEA, Hutchinson has said, “I am prepared to provide real solutions for the fentanyl crisis our communities face. 

NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell, Tom Palmer, Caitlyn Shelton, Katie Smith and Liz Jassin contributed to this report.