Letter to Eric Holder, US Attorney General - Calling for Emergency Anti-Drug Trafficking Funding Surge to Combat Heroin Problem

Letter

Dear Attorney General Holder,

As you know, over the last several years the use of heroin has skyrocketed across the nation. My home state of New York has been especially ravaged by this increase in abuse. In Albany, heroin arrests have nearly doubled over the last two years, while total seizures have skyrocketed from under 100 grams in 2012 to over 1000 grams this year. All across the state, the price of a tenth of a gram has plummeted to roughly $10, which has effectively made heroin easier to acquire than other opioids such as hydrocodone or oxycodone. It has become so prevalent across the state that 35% of the Drug Enforcement Administration's total seizures nationwide have been by New York agents.

In 2010, as a result of an offshore gambling case, US v. Gurian & Lasso, that began in the Albany County Sheriff's Office, nearly $10 million dollars was seized by the Department of Justice. Of these funds, nearly $6 million were allocated the Albany County Sheriff's Office, but that money is currently tied up in the bureaucratic process. I ask that you expedite the release of these funds so that they can be put to use fighting the ongoing battle against dangerous drugs such as heroin and other opioids.

Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting our nations' citizens and I look forward to hearing from you on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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