US Sen. Chuck Schumer called for an emergency $100 million in federal funding Monday to fight a tide of Mexican heroin he says has turned New York City into “the hotbed for the East Coast heroin trade.”
The Democrat said the money will combat big dealers entering the New York City market and slow the heroin flooding it from Mexico. The funds would be used to shore up the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program in New York and New Jersey, he said.
“A heroin pipeline has formed from Mexico to New York City and beyond to places like Staten Island, Vermont, and Boston,” Schumer said in a press release.
“We all remember the horrors caused by the crack epidemic when it was left unchecked by federal officals and other law enforcement, and that’s why I am today urging my Senate colleagues to provide $100 million in extra federal anti-drug trafficking dollars.”
Schumer wants the money included in the Senate Appropriation bill for 2015.