It’s examples like that which inspired U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy to host a roundtable discussion Monday regarding the dangers of fentanyl, as well as discussing pending litigation to help address the problem.

There were about 30 people in attendance, including elected and police officials from both cities, county leaders, representatives from Brooks and UPMC hospitals, and public and mental health staff.

“There’s no quick fix here, that’s why I’ve had these roundtable discussions,” Langworthy said to the group. “It’s going to take federal policy changes and buy-in from local officials, and the hard work from our police, our first responders, and recovery specialists.”

Langworthy noted that the House of Representatives has passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would make the temporary class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent. It would also ensure law enforcement would have the necessary tools they need to “keep these extremely lethal and dangerous drugs off our streets,” as well as ensure that practitioners can research fentanyl-related substances so health officials can better understand its overall effects on people’s health.

About 30 people attended a HALT fentanyl roundtable discussion in Mayville Monday with Rep. Nick Langworthy. Included in the discussion were county and city officials, police officials, and representatives from Brooks/TLC and UPMC hospitals.

Langworthy said the U.S. Senate has not taken up a vote on the HALT Fentanyl Act. “We passed it in May. It still sits in the Senate with no action. This is sitting on Mr. (Charles) Schumer’s desk. He could move it on the floor, take action and I believe the president would sign it into law,” he said.

Along with the HALT Fentanyl Act, there are two other bills that Langworthy has co-sponsored that are currently under review.

Langworthy called the fentanyl problem a “50-state crisis” and said it demands a collaborative effort from all levels of government, law enforcement and health officials. “This has hit every walk of life – the wealthiest people in the community have been hit with it, the poorest people. Rural, suburban, urban – no one is spared,” he said.

He blames China and the southern border for allowing fentanyl to come into the U.S., destroying lives.

County Executive PJ Wendel, who said he has personally administered Narcan to revive a person who had overdosed, said stronger punishments are needed for dealers. “I don’t know why people who are caught selling fentanyl are not charged with attempted murder,” he said.

From left: Ellicott Police Chief William Ohnmeiss Jr., Jamestown Police Lieutenant Greg Wozneak, and Jamestown Mayor Kim Ecklund were among the participants in the HALT fentanyl roundtable discussion Monday with Rep. Nick Langworthy.

Wendel said he understands the addictive nature but it’s the drug dealers who need to be held accountable. “These dealers don’t care for our people, they don’t care for our children, they don’t care for our loved ones,” he said.

Sheriff Jim Quattrone said he supports a “holistic approach,” which includes enforcement, treatment, recovery, education and prevention.

Quattrone said the first person he used Narcan on was for a teenager who had overdosed five different times. But after that last overdose, he went into treatment and was successful at overcoming his addiction. “We don’t know at what point somebody is really going to accept the help,” he said.

Langworthy thanked Quattrone for his service and noted that when he was in grade school in Pine Valley, Quattrone was his DARE officer.

The DARE program – Drug Abuse Resistance Education – is an example of something that Quatrrone said he supports, in part because it gets officers in the schools. There are other programs used today by Prevention Works, which the sheriff supports as well.

Jamestown Police Lieutenant Greg Wozneak said bail reform has discouraged many law enforcement agencies. “Nobody stays in jail. When we do lock somebody up, bail reform has essentially allowed anybody to get out, and I’m not just saying the dealers, it’s the users too,” he said.

Bail reform, which is something that was done on state level, not the federal government where Langworthy serves, allows the release of non-violent offenders without posting bail. Wozneak said when users are locked up, they don’t have access to fentanyl. He knows of at least 10 individuals who were addicted to drugs, released after being arrested, and died within 24 hours from a drug overdose, usually involving fentanyl.

Langworthy was critical of state leaders who refuse to acknowledge the problems with bail reform. He asked Wozneak about ways he believes fentanyl is coming into Chautauqua County.

The Jamestown police lieutenant said one major problem is the U.S. mail. “The U.S. Postal Service has almost zero investigators to actually try to prevent that from happening. When we tell them about potential houses or people, they basically say that they are so inundated with Buffalo, Rochester and other major cities, they can’t help us,” Wozneak said.

Langworthy said that may be an area his office may be able to help, although he admits there is a shortage when it comes to federal law enforcement.

Another area Langworthy is trying to help is to make it easier to federally charge a dealer, so a suspect can’t be released without bail.

Dunkirk Police Chief David Ortolano said bail reform has hurt their department as well. “We’ll put six months or a year into investigations into these drug issues that we have – manpower, resources, equipment. We take our tactical team, we knock their doors in, we take them to the station and if we’re lucky, we can make it a felony, and they are released in the morning,” he said.

Once the drug dealers are released, Ortolano said “they walk back to the same neighborhood they’ve destroyed, selling to our children and destroying our communities.”

Quattrone said one of the advantages law enforcement had before bail reform is that users who were behind bars would get treatment.

He wants to see all lawmakers, both state and national, interact with people “on the ground,” so that when they do try to create new laws, they actually make a difference.

Langworthy agreed and said that’s why he sees value in events like Monday’s roundtable. He thanked everyone for being there and committed to continuing to fight for this issue. “We have to keep this fight out in the open in the forefront. We can’t stigmatize it. We need to get help for the people who are struck and crippled by addiction, and we need to go and have proper enforcement against those that are profiting off of that same addiction,” he said.