DEA: Fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills now contain potentially LETHAL dose of synthetic opioid
By oliviacook // 2022-11-30
Copy
 
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned that 60 percent of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills seized earlier this year contain a potentially lethal dose of the synthetic opioid. This opioid is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, added the agency. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram issued the warning, adding that the six out of 10 increase was dramatic compared to the earlier four out of 10 figure. Federal anti-drug agents confiscated 10.2 million fake pills in a three-month operation in early 2022. It followed the more than 20.4 million fake prescription pills the DEA seized the year prior. According to the DEA, opioids being sold on the streets are increasingly being laced with fentanyl – a drug relatively new and unheard of six years ago. Mexican criminal drug networks such as the Sinaloa Cartel and its rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been mass producing fake fentanyl pills. They then deceptively market these as legitimate on social media and e-commerce platforms, enticing anyone with a smartphone – including minors – to buy. (Related: DEA head: Mexican cartels are using fentanyl to kill Americans in record numbers.) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, said fentanyl is the leading cause of death for American adults between 18 and 45 years old. "We are in the worst overdose crisis we've ever been in the U.S.," said Lisa Raville, executive director of the Denver-based Harm Reduction Action Center. In a magical world, there would be no drugs – but we live here." Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the National Institutes of Health, remarked: "What is driving these behaviors in the illicit market is clearly just profit, it's greediness." According to NIDA figures for 2021, 75 percent of cocaine overdose deaths and 50 percent of methamphethamine overdose deaths were mixed-use with fentanyl. State-level numbers also reflected the impact of fentanyl on the number of deaths. In California, fentanyl deaths accounted for one out of every five deaths among those aged 15 to 24 in 2021. Preliminary data from the Golden State's Overdose Surveillance Dashboard showed that out of 6,843 opioid-related deaths there, 5,722 were linked to a fentanyl overdose.

Texas securing southern border to stop inflow of fentanyl

Provisional 2020 data from the Texas Department of State Health Services revealed that 886 Texans died from from fentanyl-related overdoses that year. It climbed to 1,162 deaths in 2021 – a whopping 54.9 percent increase. It's not exactly surprising because Texas sees illegal immigrants with smuggled fentanyl on a regular basis, especially after Joe Biden became president. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has used his constitutional authority to designate Mexican drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations." According to the Lone Star State's chief executive, these cartels were "emboldened" by the Biden administration's open border policies for the past two years. Together with the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 for a three-fold purpose: to secure the border; to stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons and people; and to prevent, detect and intercept transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry. According to a Nov. 18 press release from Abbott's office, DPS has seized over 352 million lethal doses of fentanyl since Operation Lone Star commenced. DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez described the staggering amount of smuggled fentanyl seized by DPS troopers from illegal aliens during an appearance on Fox News. He exhorted the Biden administration to reinstate the stringent border policies put in place by former President Donald Trump. "Unfortunately, unless there's a significant change, we're going to continue seeing this over the next two years," Olivarez said. "We're going to continue seeing mass migration, fentanyl pouring across the border, human smuggling events, and of course – some of the illegal immigrants coming across will lose their lives. Not to mention the known gotaways and suspected terrorists." Watch Gabor "Gabe" Zolna talk about deadly fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills being sold on the internet. This video is from the zolnareport.com channel at Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

FBI bust in Delaware seized enough fentanyl to kill 750,000 people. Another risk of fentanyl may be an attraction to junkies – it causes amnesia. Doctors are prescribing DEADLY fentanyl for cash and lavish dinners. Sources include: KTNV.com 1 JustTheNews.com KTNV.com 2 Gov.Texas.gov Brighteon.com
Copy