Syms: Protecting Paradise Valley from fentanyl starts at the border

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Mr. or Mrs. Smith?”

“Yes? What’s this about?”

“This is the Paradise Valley Police Department. We are currently investigating an overdose death that may involve your son/daughter. Please come in as soon as possible.”

No parent ever wants to get that call. Yet, more and more families across Arizona are on the receiving end of such tragic news.

No community is immune from the impact of the current fentanyl epidemic.

Last year, there were nearly 1,300 fentanyl overdose deaths in Arizona. With the Mexican drug cartels (supplied by China) taking advantage of our border crisis, we are in for more of the same.

The threat of drugs and crime is nothing new to our community and there are lessons to be learned from our past collective experience. When I served on the Town Council, we saw firsthand the crime spilling into our community from nearby Scottsdale and Phoenix. Many of us remember the burglaries, home invasions, and car thefts that plagued our town, often perpetrated by drug abusers.

At that time, we successfully responded with more sworn police officers, better technology, and increased community outreach. I was proud to propose and chair the first Advisory Committee on Public Safety as a liaison between our residents, the council, and law enforcement. Later, as Paradise Valley’s State Representative, I worked with residents to pass stricter drug sentencing laws, crack down on sexual assault, keep DUI offenders off our roads, enact the Opioid Epidemic Act, and provide the resources to secure our border. We saw crime go down, property values go up, and our quality of life improve.

Now we are experiencing a new kind of pain, only this time, it is directly targeting our children. The fentanyl flowing across our open border and being trafficked by the cartels is causing a spike of teen overdose deaths. According to the American Medical Association, fentanyl involved teen deaths have more than tripled since 2020. In fact, there is enough fentanyl being trafficked into our country to kill every American twice over.

It is time for us to stand up as a community and state to do everything we can to protect our children and families from this deadly threat. We’ve successfully stood up to crime before and we can do it again with experienced, decisive, and cooperative leadership at the state and local level. One pill can kill — and one child lost is too many. We need leaders working to secure the border, take down the cartels, and enforce zero tolerance for fentanyl. As a mom, I know we need to use every resource to combat this immediate threat to our children.

That’s why I am running for State Representative again — so we never have to get that call. I will continue to fight for safe communities, defend the rule of law, and protect our beautiful Paradise Valley — the jewel of Arizona.