WASHINGTON – Sullivan County is the only county in the greater Hudson Valley that is not designated a “High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area” and US Senator Charles Schumer is hoping to change that. He called Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to urge the county’s approval.
Sullivan has the worst opioid overdose death rate in the state and the designation would provide it with federal support and additional resources to stop drug traffickers, the senator said. He said 15 percent of all of the deaths in Sullivan County in 2021 were attributed to the overdose epidemic.
Sheriff Michael Schiff said the designation “would be very helpful as we continue to combat drug trafficking and related violence in our county.”
“Without that designation, we are foreclosed from pursuing additional resources to combat this problem,” said District Attorney Meagan Galligan. “Our state and local police forces are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, and the efforts of our drug task force would be well-served by strengthening our federal partnerships.”
