By U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan
Dear Alaskan,
Early in my career, I sat down with eight courageous Alaska women in recovery— a group my office came to call the “amazing eight.” Their stories changed the way I understood addiction. They made it clear that addiction is not a moral failing. It is a crisis that requires compassion, treatment, prevention, recovery, and accountability.
Since then, I have worked to strengthen Alaska’s response to the opioid and fentanyl epidemic on every front. Communities across Alaska—from our largest cities to our smallest villages—have been devastated by this crisis. Between 2022 and 2023, overdose deaths in Alaska surged by more than 40 percent, taking far too many lives, including far too many young Alaskans.
After 2023, a year in which opioids killed a record number of Alaskans, the vast majority due to fentanyl, I launched the One Pill Can Kill – Alaska campaign. This initiative is designed to help families, schools, students, and communities understand the deadly threat posed by counterfeit pills and fentanyl-laced drugs. Alaskan families deserve to know the danger—truly just one pill can kill.
I also worked with my colleagues to pass the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, which expanded existing prevention, treatment, recovery services, and support for behavioral health providers, and also included Bruce’s Law—legislation I introduced with Senator Murkowski in memory of a young Alaskan, Bruce Snodgrass, who lost his life to this crisis. Bruce’s Law strengthens youth prevention and public awareness efforts around fentanyl and other dangerous synthetic opioids.
These awareness campaigns are part of a multi-pronged approach to end this crisis. While it is crucial to educate the public, especially young people, on the dangers of fentanyl, we must also go after the cartels, traffickers, and criminals bringing this deadly poison into our communities. In 2018, I worked to secure Alaska’s designation as a standalone High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, improving coordination among local, Tribal, state, and federal law enforcement. This designation has helped Alaska law enforcement seize millions of doses of lethal fentanyl.
The Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTCA) also makes historic investments to secure our border and help our law enforcement stop deadly drugs like fentanyl from flowing into our country and reaching communities across Alaska. The WFTCA provided more than $100 billion for border security, including $46 billion for the southern border wall and $48 billion in additional law enforcement funding. These investments are focused on combating drug trafficking, human trafficking, and unlawful crossings while making sure our immigration laws are properly enforced and our communities are kept safe.
We also need to hold drug traffickers accountable for the devastation they bring to communities across our state. I worked with my colleagues to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act in 2025 to permanently designate fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I controlled substance, heightening the civil and criminal penalties associated with the illegal production and distribution of these drugs. I also recently introduced the TIME for Overdose Justice Act to remove the five-year time limit for charging drug dealers who cause someone’s death. This legislation was inspired by the tragic story of an Alaskan mother who lost her daughter and was prevented from pursuing justice due to this arbitrary limitation. My bill seeks to provide the greatest opportunity for future victims to have their dealers held accountable.
The fentanyl crisis requires a full response: preventing addiction before it starts, supporting Alaskans in recovery, expanding treatment, strengthening law enforcement, and holding traffickers accountable. I remain deeply grateful to the many Alaskans who have shared their stories with me and have dedicated their lives to ending this crisis. I will keep fighting to protect Alaska families, support those battling addiction, and stop the deadly flow of fentanyl into our state.
Sincerely,
Dan Sullivan
United States Senator
