STATEMENT OF MATTHEW STRAIT
DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR DIVERSION CONTROL DIVISION
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BEFORE
THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAT A HEARING ENTITLED “RESPONDING TO AMERICA'S OVERDOSE CRISIS:
AN EXAMINATION OF LEGISLATION TO BUILD UPON THE SUPPORT ACT”
PRESENTED
JUNE 21, 2023
Chairman Guthrie, Ranking Member Eshoo, and distinguished members of the committee: On behalf of the Department of Justice (Department), and in particular the nearly 10,000 employees working at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss DEA’s work in implementing the SUPPORT Act. The Diversion Control Division is tasked with the responsibility to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals from legitimate sources, while ensuring an adequate and uninterrupted supply for legitimate medical, commercial, and scientific needs.
Americans today are experiencing the most devastating drug crisis in our nation’s history. This is because one drug—illicit fentanyl—has transformed the criminal landscape. Illicit fentanyl is exceptionally cheap to make, exceptionally easy to disguise, and exceptionally deadly to those who take it. It is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 to 45, and it kills Americans from all walks of life, in every state and community in this country. Two Mexican drug cartels—the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel—are primarily responsible for driving the drug poisoning epidemic in the United States. They are modern, sophisticated, and extremely violent cartels that rely on a global supply chain to manufacture, transport, and sell illicit fentanyl, and on a global illicit financial network to pocket billions of dollars in revenue from those sales.
