The opioid epidemic is hitting New Jersey especially hard.

Overdose deaths are triple the national average in New Jersey. Politicians for years have been paying lip-service to the problem while failing to make a proper investment of resources to address the solutions needed.

One solution is involuntary commitment for drug addicts who are revived by a first responder administering NARCAN. Another is to go to the source and hold foreign nationals accountable. That's right, one of the most dangerous narcotics to hit the streets is Chinese made fentanyl.

According to the Ocean Country prosecutor who testified before Congress, nearly 80% of overdose victims had fentanyl in their system. Congressman Chris Smith joined me Monday morning to discuss his efforts to target the Chinese distribution of the substance by changing the inspection rules for the US Postal Service to reflect the stricter guidelines used by Fedex and UPS.

The second thing he's pushing for is holding the government officials in China personally responsible for letting the drug get out into the black market. Personal Sanctions on individual officials. I think he's onto something.

Congressman Smith has been an active leader in the fight against addiction. He understands that the solution isn't more awareness, it's direct action against the players who are contributing to the skyrocketing deaths in our state. I support his aggressive stance 100% and hope that he has a conversation with the President soon to get started on holding the Chinese government responsible for their contribution to the crisis.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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