(Rafael Arroyo) – Around this time last year, the day before Thanksgiving, someone overdosed right outside my business, collapsing in his wheelchair by the sidewalk as my employees were unlocking the doors for the day.
They were shaken. Frightened. Horrified that this is happening right here in Las Vegas, on a busy street in broad daylight.
This isn’t San Francisco.
This isn’t Philadelphia.
This is Las Vegas — and I refuse to accept this as “normal.”
Fentanyl. Kratom. Illicit vapes. Products funded and trafficked through networks tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
They are targeting our communities, our families, and our children, and under the Biden Administration, our government was failing to protect us.
We’ve all seen what happens when cities look the other way.
First, the small stuff is ignored: a broken window, a loiterer, a “minor” violation. Then comes the crime, the drugs, the fear. Businesses board up. Families move out. Neighborhoods decay.
It’s the same story from coast to coast, and I will not stand by and watch it unfold here in Nevada.
Let’s be clear: we already have laws to stop this. What we lack is the will to enforce them.
For years, the Biden administration turned a blind eye to the illicit vape market and the poisons flooding across our borders. Enough is enough.
This is hurting honest, hardworking store owners who have long-asked policymakers to address this issue – vape shops trying to comply with the law but are being undercut by shady smoke shops that are ignoring laws.
I see President Trump is taking this threat seriously — and the American people are behind him.
A recent Breitbart poll shows that 80% of Americans support cracking down on illicit vapes and other dangerous products. Eighty percent. That’s not partisan, it’s a mandate for action.
We need all of our elected officials standing up for law and order, for safe streets, and for the small business owners and families who deserve to live without stepping over needles or watching overdoses outside their doors.
I didn’t open my business to become a street medic, a security guard, or a crime reporter.
But like so many others, I’m being forced into those roles because the system refuses to enforce its own rules.
It’s time to fix that.
I’m calling on our Nevada leaders to support the current administration’s crackdown on illicit vapes and the enforcement of existing laws.
We must stop pretending this is normal. Once we lose our streets, we don’t get them back.
Let’s keep Nevada, Nevada.
Rafael Arroyo is a small business owner and a candidate for Assembly District 41. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
