North Egypt News

Republican state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) is highlighting the rising number of drug overdoses across the country stemming from a growing dependency on drugs like fentanyl.

Severin recently shared a WSIL Facebook post that offers a scary statistic: “America’s drug epidemic is the deadliest it has ever been, new federal data suggests. More than 100,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States during the 12-month period ending April 2021.”

The new numbers come courtesy of the latest data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, overdose deaths are up 28.5% from the same period a year earlier.

Researchers found opioids continue to be the biggest drivers of the scourge, with synthetic opioids like primarily fentanyl accounting for nearly two-thirds (64%) of all drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending April 2021. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, the fentanyl-related death numbers represent a 49% jump from the year before.

Over that same time, John Hopkins University reports another 509,000 people died from illnesses brought on by COVID-19.

"What we're seeing are the effects of these patterns of crisis and the appearance of more dangerous drugs at much lower prices," Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CNN. "In a crisis of this magnitude, those already taking drugs may take higher amounts and those in recovery may relapse. It's a phenomenon we've seen and perhaps could have predicted."

While the use of synthetic drugs was on the rise even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, experts believe the lingering impact of the pandemic may have exacerbated its use to the point things may now be at the point of no return.

"Even if COVID went away tomorrow, we'd still have a problem. What will have an impact is dramatic improvement to access to treatment," said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, medical director of opioid policy research at the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

The Carbondale Reporter reports Severin has also recently blasted Gov. J.B. Pritzker for enacting bills he argues give him too much power over pandemic measures while stripping away the rights of parents.

”Governor Pritzker has been allowed to manage the pandemic on his own as the House and Senate Democrats have sat idly by, yielding to his every demand, bowing to every Executive Order,” Severin said of a change to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act he argues gives Gov. J.B. Pritzker too much power versus lawsuits filed against his vaccine or testing mandates.

The amendment prohibits the HCRCA from being used as a tool to challenge the state's COVID-19 prevention measures. 

”Governor Pritzker has been allowed to manage the pandemic on his own as the House and Senate Democrats have sat idly by, yielding to his every demand, bowing to every Executive Order,” Severin added. “I’ve been working to get our state back open, to get kids back in school, to get people back to work after the shutdowns. I have also encouraged people to get the vaccine if it makes sense for them. I have totally opposed the mandating of the COVID-19 vaccine, especially for our first responders, police, nurses, doctors, and EMTs. They were the ones helping us fight this pandemic from the very beginning. Now Gov. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats are threatening them with losing their livelihoods because of a deeply held conscientious or religious belief they hold. That is wrong."

At the same time, the House passed legislation paving the way for the elimination of the requirement that parents or guardians of minors be notified within 48 hours of the minor seeking an abortion (HB 370).

”Illinois House and Senate Democrats have now added the removal of the right of a parent or guardian to know if their minor child is about to have an abortion to their growing list of leftist progressive policy advancements,” Severin added. “This is a dangerous change in law, that removes fundamental rights of parents to be made aware of serious medical decisions being made in their children’s lives.”

Severin also recently blasted the latest legislative maps drawn by Democrats as a “head fake,” according to SW Illinois News. He later added he’s now convinced Democrats are now purposely muddying the waters.

“After what I saw, I truly believe the map released by the Democrats is a head fake, an old basketball move where they throw even more chaos and confusion into the process,” he said. “We've seen this show before, 10 years ago. The Democrats released the legislative map that caused chaos and confusion and back-stabbing and backroom deals. That’s what they’re trying to do here as well… it was clear to me during the more-than two dozen hearings I participated in, the Democrats weren't interested in the public input at all.”