The number of fentanyl seizures by law enforcement authorities more than quadrupled between 2017 and 2023, as investigators discovered that the drug continued to entrench itself in the country’s illicit drug supply.
Fentanyl seizures in the U.S. have been on an exponential upward trend since 2017, according to data from the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. Researchers of the study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), obtained data from HIDTA.
Around 50,000 pills containing fentanyl were seized in 2017, but the number has soared to more than 115 million pills by 2023.
Fentanyl in pill form is becoming increasingly common, with pills accounting for about half of illicit fentanyl seizures last year, compared to 10% in 2017.
“The key finding is how quickly fentanyl is entering the country disguised as copycat pills,” NIDA Director Nora Volkow told The Hill. “I must also state that the total number of deals is simply gigantic, which is very worrying.”
The cause of the dramatic increase in fentanyl pill seizures over the years is a combination of authorities becoming more aware of the drug entering the country in pill form and an overall increase in total fentanyl trafficked, primarily across borders with Mexico and Canada.
The Drug Enforcement Administration cites China as the main source of fentanyl that is smuggled into the US.
Earlier this month, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party published a report stating that the Chinese government directly subsidizes the production and export of illicit fentanyl.
“Although the PRC government publicly acknowledged in November 2023 that trafficking in fentanyl precursors and other illicit narcotic materials in the manner described above is illegal under Chinese law, the Select Committee found thousands of PRC companies that openly sell these illicit materials on the Chinese Internet—the most heavily surveilled national network in the world,” the committee said.
A common way for pills containing fentanyl to reach U.S. residents is through online shopping, according to Volkow. Pain patients whose doctors do not prescribe opioids turn to the internet, where pills are more accessible and cost less.
These buyers are not looking for fentanyl and most likely are unaware that the medication they purchased online was cut with the highly potent opioid. Volkow noticed a worrying trend when it comes to buyer demographics.
“We are seeing older people – there is a significant increase in the number of people aged 65 to 74 dying from overdoses. And between 65 and 74 years old, these are not people who come in looking for heroin,” said Volkow. “We saw an increase between 15 and 19 years old. And these kids aren’t looking for heroin or fentanyl.”
Florida saw the highest number of fentanyl seizures in 2023, followed by Arizona and California. California was found to have the highest total number of illicit fentanyl pills, with more than 38 million pills seized last year.
Regionally, the West accounted for the majority of pills seized in the U.S. and the Northeast reported the fewest.
“An important finding was the growth of fentanyl seizures in the West compared to other regions of the US. In 2023, the West had the plurality or majority by all measures except the number of gunpowder seizures, which was more high in the South. Although, while the South had more gunpowder seizures, greater gunpowder weight (and total weight) was seized in the West,” the report stated.
“In fact, fentanyl seizures were initially less common in the West, but the West now largely dominates with regard to the number and size of seizures, especially with regard to pills.”
Volkow said the main reason drug traffickers are injecting more fentanyl into the U.S. is “greed.”
“You make a lot more money on fentanyl than you do on heroin, at least 50 times more,” she said. “The other thing is that it’s relatively easy to synthesize and manufacture. And because it’s so potent, which is the third thing, you can bring it in a small volume and in a small volume…you can basically extract several thousand doses.”
The NIDA director cited fentanyl test strips as a “powerful tool” to combat opioid harm, along with the drug naloxone, which can counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. Both options are relatively cheap.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
