US Authorities Seized Enough Fentanyl “To Kill All Americans” By 2022 Congress Clears Way For Early Elections In Peru

In theory, the amount of the drug fentanyl seized in the United States by 2022 could have killed all of the country’s approximately 333 million residents. The US Anti-Drug Police (DEA) announced on Tuesday (local time) that more than 50.6 million counterfeit fentanyl prescription pills and more than 4,530 kilograms of fentanyl powder have been seized. That equates to “more than 379 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl”. That’s enough “to kill every American”.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. It is a driver of the opioid crisis in the US, which kills tens of thousands every year. It is estimated that about 108,000 people will die of drug overdose in the United States in 2021, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. Just two milligrams of fentanyl — the small amount that fits on the tip of a pencil — is considered a potentially lethal dose, according to the DEA.

Pharmaceutical fentanyl is approved for the treatment of severe pain, usually associated with advanced cancer. However, illegally manufactured fentanyl is sold in illicit drug markets for its heroin-like effects, and is often mixed with heroin or other drugs such as cocaine, or compressed into counterfeit prescription pills. According to the DEA, its priority is to dismantle two Mexican drug cartels: the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. They are primarily responsible for the fentanyl. Most of the fentanyl traded by the two cartels is made in secret factories in Mexico, using chemicals sourced primarily from China.

In 2022, the DEA seized more than twice as many fentanyl-laced pills as the previous year. The DEA also seized more than 59,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, about 1,950 kilograms of heroin, and about 200,000 kilograms of cocaine. (meg/sda/dpa)