Trump signs bill to improve opioid screening technology

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump has signed legislation aimed at giving Customs and Border Protection agents additional screening devices and other tools to stop the flow of illicit drugs.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the bill is "a significant step forward" in the fight against powerful opioids such as fentanyl. He calls it "our new big scourge."

Trump is warning that drug traffickers are "using our postal system and they're killing our people."

The president was joined at the bill signing ceremony by members of Congress and health care practitioners.

The bill ensures CBP agents will have portable chemical screening devices at ports of entry and mail facilities. It appropriates $9 million for hundreds of new screening devices, laboratory equipment and facilities.