How Fentanyl Entered the U.S.

Earlier this week, several students Bernstein High School In Hollywood, he was hospitalized with a fentanyl-related overdose. Two students were arrested in connection with a drug overdose and the death of one of her students, 15-year-old Melanie Ramos.

Illegally manufactured synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are the leading cause of drug overdose deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionresponsible for “82.3% of overdose deaths involving opioids.”

This counterfeit version of a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain is known to be mixed with other illicit substances such as cocaine and heroin to “enhance its euphoric effects.” CDC.

It has affected so many people and their loved ones that it is normal to wonder where this drug came from.

China

according to Drug Enforcement AdministrationChina was a major source of “fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances traded directly into the United States.”

In 2019, President Xi of China imposed restrictions on the production and sale of fentanyl in the country.

According to the DEA, these restrictions include “examination of known fentanyl-producing areas, strict control over Internet sites promoting fentanyl, strict enforcement of shipping regulations, and the use of special teams to investigate fentanyl trafficking leads.” It included founding.

The new guidelines have the ability to severely restrict the production and distribution of drugs in China.

Mexico

Mexican transnational criminal syndicates are also responsible for bringing illegal drugs into the United States.

Mexican authorities, working with the DEA, have stopped manufacturing counterfeit fentanyl-laced tablets in multiple locations since 2018.

The Sinaloa and New Generation Jalisco cartels were likely the main groups that brought fentanyl to the United States from Mexico, according to the DEA.

Drug smuggling occurs across the U.S.-Mexico border and, according to the DEA, in the “Mexico trafficking corridor leading to California and Arizona” controlled by these organizations.

India

India emerges as another source of illegal fentanyl into the US

In February-March 2018, drug production was moved from China to India as Chinese regulations made it difficult to obtain fentanyl precursors (chemicals known to make drugs) in China. I was.

In February 2018, the government introduced fentanyl-related regulations similar to those in China.

In December of the same year, four Indians were arrested for manufacturing about 100 kilograms of fentanyl. The drugs were to be shipped to Mexico before authorities seized them and dismantled the production site.

According to the DEA, this is the third time in 2018 that “fentanyl-related substances or fentanyl precursors have been linked to Mexico.”

Illegally manufactured fentanyl continues to be a major force in the world. opioid epidemic However, the authorities medicine from home and abroad.