Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wants more federal resources to combat fentanyl. On Wednesday, she issued a statement requesting assistance from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, following up on a letter she sent in March.
As Mayes’ spokesperson Richie Taylor says, this is a huge problem for Arizona in particular.
“Arizona has fewer agents for the DEA than Florida and New York even though 50% of the fentanyl that is seized in this country is seized in our state,” Taylor said.
Mayes has four specific requests.
The first is assigning “at least” 50 new DEA agents to Arizona — in consideration of the disproportionate amount of fentanyl here.
The second request is to restore (at least) $300,000 to the state’s DEA offices, which got cut last year.
The third request is to restore DEA positions cut by the federal Department of Government Efficiency, run by Elon Musk.
The last request is for the federal government to support High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program funding increases. The program was created by Congress and assists areas where there’s a high amount of drug-trafficking.
The March letter was addressed to DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz — who has since stepped down.
“While illegal border crossings have dropped significantly, fentanyl and other drugs are still flowing through legal ports of entry. We need additional resources — now — to interdict that flow and save lives,” Mayes said in a statement on Wednesday.
She also took a swipe at a group of Republican attorneys general and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) for traveling to the border on Wednesday for what she called a “meaningless photo-op” while the state is still without enough resources to fight fentanyl.
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