Arkansas Narcotic Officers Association Endorses Senator Tom Cotton

Today, the Arkansas Narcotic Officers Association announced their endorsement of Senator Tom Cotton (R) for re-election to the U.S. Senate.

“I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the Arkansas Narcotic Officers Association,” said Senator Cotton. “These brave men and women keep drugs out of Arkansas’s communities, and I’ll always back the blue. I have fought to make Arkansas safer by ensuring our law enforcement officers have the resources to keep us safe.”

In part, the Association wrote:

“On behalf of the Arkansas Narcotic Officers Association (ANOA), we are proud to offer our strong endorsement and express our sincere appreciation for your continued commitment to the law enforcement officers who serve the State of Arkansas.

Throughout your service in the United States Senate, you have consistently demonstrated strong support for law enforcement, public safety, and the men and women working every day to combat illegal narcotics and protect our communities. Your commitment to strengthening Arkansas narcotic enforcement, supporting officers and agencies on the front lines, and advocating for strong border security has been particularly important as law enforcement confronts the continued flow of dangerous drugs into our state and communities.

ANOA especially appreciates your willingness to meet with representatives of our association annually to discuss the current state of drug enforcement in Arkansas. These meetings provide an important opportunity to share firsthand information about emerging drug trends, enforcement challenges, and the impact of federal legislation and laws affecting law enforcement officers and agencies across Arkansas. Your willingness to listen directly to those working in the field demonstrates a genuine commitment to understanding the challenges facing Arkansas law enforcement.”

Full text of the letter may be found here.

In the U.S. Senate, Senator Tom Cotton has championed many priorities that help Arkansas narcotic officers do their jobs and protect Arkansans from drugs, including:

• Passed the Fentanyl Sanctions Act – requires sanctions against foreign fentanyl manufacturers, traffickers, precursor suppliers and financial facilitators. Congress incorporated it into the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
• Pushed for permanent control of fentanyl analogues – Cotton repeatedly introduced the Protecting Americans from Fentanyl Trafficking Act in 2021, 2022 and 2023, sought unanimous consent for it and offered an amendment to make the DEA’s temporary class-wide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances permanent.
• Helped create and led the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking – Cotton’s Fentanyl Sanctions Act established a commission bringing together Congress, DEA, DHS, Treasury, State, Defense, the intelligence community and outside experts. Cotton was appointed to it and served as a co-chair.
• Proposed better fentanyl-detection equipment for local police – Cotton joined the bipartisan POWER Act, which would provide Justice Department grants for state, local and tribal agencies to purchase portable chemical-screening devices. The equipment can identify fentanyl through packaging, protect officers from exposure and reduce laboratory backlogs.