By The Star Staff
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Thursday that he favors decriminalizing the use of controlled substances, but not legalizing them, following the increase in fentanyl-related deaths.
“This legalization thing is not for me,” Pierluisi said in response to questions from the press. “Decriminalization could be done to a certain extent, but with great care and controls, because we do not want to encourage drug use in Puerto Rico; if anything, we want to discourage it.”
“I have always said that drug users, addicts, should not be imprisoned, except when it is a repeat offense and they are committing a series of crimes that do not provide alternatives,” the governor added.
The head of the Mental Health and Anti-Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA), Carmen Bonet, stressed that the agency has been working on the fentanyl issue for years.
“Since 2017, ASSMCA has made more aggressive campaigns to close off [the availability of] illicit fentanyl, because we must mention that fentanyl in therapeutic use is a controlled drug due to its potency,” Bonet said.
“It is a fentanyl created in clandestine laboratories without any type of quality control, and it can be lethal,” she said. “ASSMCA has distributed more than 100,000 naloxone kits in recent years and has trained more than 26,000 people, including professionals and community leaders.”
Bonet called on “anyone who buys any substance illegally to be aware of the risk that it may contain fentanyl.” She added that rapid fentanyl tests are being distributed for those with substance use disorders and that the ASSMCA will continue its efforts throughout Puerto Rico.
Earlier on Thursday, the Institute of Forensic Sciences confirmed that a spate of deaths reported in Arecibo were caused by overdoses of fentanyl in combination with other drugs, such as cocaine and xylazine (see related story on page 2).
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