War on Drugs

Enough fentanyl to kill 4.7 million people seized in California bust

Published

10 months ago

April 11, 2022

Police in Southern California seized over 20 pounds of fentanyl during a drug bust in Santa Ana. Authorities claim that amount of fentanyl has the potential to kill a whopping 4.7 million people. It takes only 2 milligrams of fentanyl to be a lethal dose.

That’s “more than the combined city populations of Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa” writes News4 Jacksonville.

Prosecutors say it was the largest drug bust in Orange County in 16 years. The bust also included 200 pounds of cocaine and over 800 pounds of meth, authorities stated.

Fentanyl overdose is a growing crisis in the United States. Weeks ago, DEA agents win California seized 3 kilos of fentanyl powder. Days before the Orange County drug bust, Phoenix federal agents seized 150,000 fentanyl pills and a kilo of fentanyl powder.

On Friday SaraCarter.com reported on a letter sent by the Drug Enforcement Agency to all federal and local law enforcement warning that mass-overdoses are occurring all over the country.

Many street drugs are being laced with fentanyl. The DEA letter stated:

The DEA is seeing a nationwide spike in fentanyl-related mass-overdose events involving three or more overdoses occurring close in time at the same location. In just the past two months, there have been at least 7 confirmed mass overdose events across the United States resulting in 58 overdoses and 29 overdose deaths.

Many of the overdose victims “thought they were ingesting cocaine and had no idea that they were in fact ingesting fentanyl” the letter states. Jacksonville’s DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mike Dubet said Mexican drug cartels are flooding the U.S. with fentanyl to keep up with the demand of drug users and gain new customers.

“Last year, we had a record year of fennel seizures. I believe it was around 15,000 pounds” said Dubet. “This year in the first three months, we’re on pace to top that.”

Healthcare

TN Republican introduces legislation to fight opioid shipments into U.S.

Published

1 day ago

January 30, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Tennessee Republican Representative Diana Harshbarger is attempting to fight the opioid crisis and epidemic through new legislation. Introduced Friday, Harshbarger told the Daily Caller:

The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation, which addresses what Harshbarger calls a “loophole.” The legislation amends the Controlled Substances Act to specifically require registrants to investigate reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances and halt them if necessary. Under the version of the act currently in force, drug manufacturers and distributors are only required to report suspicious orders of opioids and other controlled substances to the DEA.

“Breaking the opioid epidemic’s stranglehold on our nation is one of my foremost priorities. In an effort to do so, my colleagues and I have identified a loophole that allows distributors to continue order fulfillment, even under suspicious circumstances.”

“My bill closes that loophole with the requirements and guardrails needed to ensure these addictive and potentially dangerous drugs do not fall into the wrong hands while the DEA investigates. The future of our nation depends on us solving the addiction crisis, and this is a step towards that outcome” Harshbarger continued.

The Daily Caller reports:

According to a congressional report released in September, the opioid crisis cost the U.S. $1.5 trillion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CDC says 93,331 people died from overdoses in the U.S. in 2020, the highest in 50 years. Opioid-related deaths made up nearly three-quarters of the total.

Pharmaceutical companies have been blamed for contributing to the opioid epidemic. The Department of Justice is currently suing the pharmaceutical company AmerisourceBergen over allegations the company failed to report suspicious orders of opioids to federal law enforcement.