Exclusive–Sheriff John Layton: Trump Securing China’s Ban on Fentanyl A ‘Win for America’

President of the National Sheriff’s Association and Marion County, Indiana Sheriff John Layton says President Trump’s securing China’s ban on the deadly opioid fentanyl is a “win for America” and families in the United States.

In an announcement last week, Chinese officials said beginning May 1, the country would ban all forms of fentanyl, the fatal opioid drug that is 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin.

The news came after Trump lobbied China to take action against the country’s production of fentanyl, demanding the opioid be banned. Layton, who describes himself as a “conservative Democrat,” said the news out of Beijing, China has law enforcement “cautiously optimistic.”

“It’s a win for America, that is definitely for sure,” Layton said.

LISTEN:

When you’re talking about law enforcement in America and you’re talking about probably one of the largest of just a handful of scourges that law enforcement fights across America every day … this is probably one of the major breakthroughs within the drug wars that we’ve had in years. [Emphasis added]

Obviously, most of the predominance of fentanyl comes from China. For China to take this stance against this, which it had not done in the past, suddenly is historic. It really is, for the fentanyl fight and the fight against opioids in America. [Emphasis added]

[Fentanyl] leads to so much tragedy … and it is time that governments like China stepped up to the plate and start helping out and our fingers are crossed. Sheriffs fingers are crossed across America that this is going to take hold. We’re very cautiously optimistic. [Emphasis added]

Layton explained that the majority of fentanyl in the U.S. is produced in China, though the deadly drug arrives in the country through a variety of ways, most significantly through the U.S.-Mexico border by drug traffickers.

“They’re actually lacing many of the other opioid drugs, the more milder drugs with fentanyl,” Layton said.

“The fact that we can start choking it off at the source, if you want to rely on China to do what they say they’re going to do, is great news for law enforcement and America, and great news for the people and families of America,” Layton continued.

Layton also praised Trump’s staunch support of American law enforcement as a game-changer in the perception that U.S. citizens and communities have of police officers and sheriff deputies:

I am a conservative Democrat and I have watched President Trump and although many people across America did not agree with everything he says or all of his actions or whatever, the bottom line is that he does champion law enforcement and I believe our military strength. [Emphasis added]

That is kind of refreshing that maybe, just maybe he’s helping to turn things around and maybe some of the respect for law enforcement will inch back in because we’ve taken a hit in the last few years as far as the badge. People don’t seem to be giving it as much respect and clarity as before. Kids used to want to be a police officer … they don’t say that so often anymore and that’s a shame because it’s such an honorable profession and we do our best to keep America better. [Emphasis added]

“This president has taken our side and I do believe he’s behind the law enforcement of America,” Layton said. “It’s kind of a breath of fresh air coming in.”

As Breitbart News’ John Hayward has reported, fentanyl deaths in the U.S. have skyrocketed and coincided with the country’s lax immigration and border enforcement.

Drug overdoses in 2017 killed an unprecedented 72,287 U.S. residents, nearly three times the number of individuals killed by global terrorism. Nearly 50,000 of those deadly overdoses were caused by either heroin or fentanyl.

Federal data reveals that, specifically, young white American men have been impacted the most by the trafficking of opioids like fentanyl into the country. Between 2011 and 2016, fentanyl overdose deaths increased by more than 1,000 percent. In 2011, for example, there were about 1,660 Americans who died of fentanyl overdoses. Fast-forward to 2016, when there were 18,335 Americans who died from fentanyl.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.