US drug enforcement recognizes Fentanyl Awareness Day as country fights Mexican, Chinese menace

Washington [US], August 21 : Drug Enforcement Administration on Sunday recognized National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day by joining the many voices dedicated to educating the public on the serious dangers of fentanyl poisoning from fake pills and other illicit drugs.
Notably, the illegal trade of synthetic drug Fentanyl from China has dramatically increased overdose incidents in the United States eventually leading to deaths from overdose. The rise in such deaths has become a great cause of concern to the American government. Moreover, Chinese suppliers have been withholding information.
The US government needs to launch an all-out narco-war with the Mexican drug cartels manufacturing and trafficking the drug, along with their Chinese Triad organized-crime-syndicate partners, reported New York Post.
DEA supports the efforts of several organizations - including the Alexander Neville Foundation, Blue Plaid Society, Facing Fentanyl, Voices for Awareness, V.O.I.D., and others - to amplify nationwide efforts to increase awareness of the highly addictive and dangerous drugs containing fentanyl that continue driving the opioid epidemic.
More than 37,000 overdose Fentanyl deaths were reported three years ago. In the recent past, US administrators took proactive measures to monitor and combat the illegal supply and use of Fentanyl.
In 2015, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 70 pounds of Fentanyl; three years later in 2018, it seized more than 2,000 pounds. The American opioid crisis worsened in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese dealers did not share information with their customers and many clients used Fentanyl supposing it to be heroin. China has been the principal direct or indirect supplier of the deadly synthetic substance or of the precursor agents, from which Fentanyl is produced in the United States.
"Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. "From large cities to rural America, no community is safe from the presence of fentanyl. DEA is proud to work with families who have been affected by fentanyl poisonings to spread the word and to save lives."
"In wake of the nation's opioid epidemic, DEA and its law enforcement counterparts will continue working tirelessly to stem the tide against this national security threat," said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.
"The Sinaloa and CJNG are responsible for the deadly fentanyl that hits our streets; however, last year we seized over 20 million fake pills, which negatively impacted their bottom lines, but more importantly saved American lives."
As the situation worsened the US government pressured China to ban the production, sales and exports of all Fentanyl-class drugs.
This production was only allowed unless special government licenses are issued but what the research group revealed is that China continues to illegally trade continues by hiding the drug in legal cargos.
The rise in deaths because of this illicit Chinese trafficking has become a great cause of concern to the American government.
Fentanyl is still manufactured across China, from the eastern province of Hebei, Hangzhou to the western province of Xinjiang.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It is inexpensive, widely available, highly addictive -- and potentially lethal. Drug traffickers are increasingly mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs--in powder and pill form--to drive addiction and create repeat customers. Many fentanyl poisoning victims are unaware that fentanyl is in the substance they are ingesting.
According to the CDC, an estimated 107,622 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and poisonings in 2021, with 67 per cent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is a potentially lethal dose.
DEA stands with our federal, state, local, and community partners who work tirelessly to raise awareness of this important issue and prevent the fentanyl poisonings from devastating our country. DEA has created a special exhibit for its museum, The Faces of Fentanyl, to commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning.