Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Vice President Kamala Harris has not stated support for legalizing illicit use of fentanyl.

The pain reliever is legal with a prescription, but is often imported illegally and abused.

Former President Donald Trump claimed Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, that Harris “wants to legalize fentanyl right away.”

His campaign cited a 2019 candidate questionnaire, which did not mention fentanyl. Asked if she would support federal decriminalization of “all drug possession for personal use,” Harris answered yes and wrote that “it is long past time that we changed” criminalization of marijuana and that she has supported “rehabilitation over incarceration for drug-related offenses.”

Harris’ campaign did not answer a question from Wisconsin Watch on whether she currently supports the decriminalization mentioned in the questionnaire.

Harris has pledged to “make it a top priority to disrupt” fentanyl entering the United States and to double U.S. Justice Department resources to do so.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

National Institute on Drug Abuse: What is fentanyl?

LiveNOW from FOX: FULL SPEECH: Trump speaks on immigration in battleground Wisconsin | LiveNOW from FOX

American Civil Liberties Union: ACLU Rights for All Candidate Questionnaire 2019 Kamala D. Harris

New York Times: After Harris Calls for a Crackdown on Fentanyl, Trump Twists Her Position

NBC News: Harris says she would ‘double’ DOJ resources to crack down on drug cartels

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

More than 90% of illegal fentanyl confiscated in the United States is seized at legal ports of entry, such as airports or monitored border crossings, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Cartels try to smuggle fentanyl mainly in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens, the department says.

Fentanyl is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pain relief. Often abused, it is 50 times more potent than heroin.

Synthetic opioids — mainly fentanyl — account for about 70% of the estimated 100,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. annually.

In Wisconsin, synthetic opioid deaths set records under former President Donald Trump and under President Joe Biden. They reached 1,337 in 2022 before dropping to around 1,300 in 2023.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who is running for re-election Nov. 5, 2024, against Republican Eric Hovde, alluded to the 90% statistic Sept. 5.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Homeland Security Department: Study in the States

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Fact Sheet: DHS is on the Front Lines Combating Illicit Opioids, Including Fentanyl

Wisconsin Watch: Does fentanyl kill more than 100,000 Americans every year?

River Channel: 2024 Western Wisconsin Journal: U.S. Senate Candidate Tammy Baldwin (D)