By Derek Redd, The Intelligencer
WASHINGTON, DC — Diana Estep understands that the HALT Fentanyl Act she watched President Donald Trump sign Wednesday at the White House won’t bring back her son Drew, who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2020 at just 24 years old. Neither will the rallies and marches she has attended over the years with her husband Steve to bring awareness to fentanyl poisoning and, hopefully, stop its encroachment into families’ lives.
Yet the New Martinsville resident also understands that all those rallies and marches and the bill signed Wednesday will help other families to avoid experiencing the loss she and her family felt.
Estep traveled with other family members to Washington D.C. after being invited to attend the bill signing. Estep was among several family members who held up photos of their late loved ones behind Trump as he discussed the bill.
The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, passed by both U.S. Senate and House with bipartisan support, will put all fentanyl-related substances – including copycat versions – on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of most dangerous drugs, and classify them as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act.
