July 16-21 walk to Seattle brings focus to fentanyl crisis
July 16, 2024 – Dr Raul Garcia, candidate for U.S. Senate, began a six-day walk this morning that will take him from central Washington to Seattle with the goal of shining a spotlight on the growing threat of fentanyl, a drug that is killing Washingtonians by the thousands. Walk details are at fentanylwalk.com (which redirects to garciaforwa.com/fentanyl-walk/)
At the Big Pines Recreation Site in Kittitas County where the walk started, Garcia was joined by U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse who represents Washington’s 4th Congressional District. Newhouse launched the Central Washington Fentanyl Task Force in 2023. He co-leads the bipartisan House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Fentanyl Policy Working Group, which is tasked with ways to combat the CCP’s role in America’s fentanyl crisis.
“Our mission is to unite eastern and western Washington in the fight against fentanyl, to honor all those who have died senselessly, and to let the people of Washington know we have the power to overcome this terrible drug and save lives,” Garcia, an Emergency Room doctor, said.
He noted that fentanyl is “the worst killer I’ve seen in 26 years,” adding that he sees at least two fentanyl overdoses per shift in the ER. He said he decided on the walk because government response to the crisis has been “completely inadequate.”
Garcia is proposing the Americans Against Fentanyl Act which would impose mandatory felony charges and significant prison time for serious fentanyl dealers, and allow and provide federal funding for mandatory treatment and recovery programs for addicts.
Walk participants will include former addicts, families and friends of fentanyl overdose victims, and advocates who will join the walk at various points.
Ginny Burton, a former meth and heroin addict and now leader in the reentry and social service field, plans to join the walk July 17 until the finish line July 21 at Seattle’s East Portal Viewpoint. Burton’s recent interview with Garcia is here.
“I am walking across the state with Dr Raul Garcia, ER doctor and candidate for U.S. Senate, to shine a light on the fentanyl war that’s unleashed on citizens here in the U.S. As the media focuses on other countries, we ignore the fentanyl war going on right here on U.S. soil. Every step I take represents a life lost too soon to this war,” said Burton.
Art Dahlen of Battlefield Addiction and Rebuild Recovery in Kent will also be at the end-of-walk gathering and media availability in Seattle on July 21. Dahlen’s recent discussion with Garcia is here.
“Fentanyl use is a swift and certain death,” said Dahlen. “We must take drastic measures and handle anyone using fentanyl with urgency. Mandating treatment will save lives and be a necessary tool in handling this crisis.”
During the walk Garcia and his fellow walkers will be accompanied by support personnel and supplies. They will stop at various points along the route to spend the night and meet with locals.
For additional walk details and updates throughout the walk, visit fentanylwalk.com.
