Lethal Amounts on Pencil Tips... US Struggles with 'Fentanyl' Crisis

Fentanyl Overdose Leading Cause of Death for Americans Aged 18-49
Mass Production Possible at Ultra-Low Cost, Nicknamed 'Synthetic Drug Kingpin'
Drug Cooperation Between US and Mexico Broken, Leading to Increased Activity in US

The U.S. government seized an amount of fentanyl sufficient for every American to take. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

The deadly drug fentanyl, which causes one death every 7 minutes in the United States?the 'largest drug-consuming country'?is emerging as a social issue. Amid this, the U.S. government has seized enough fentanyl to supply every American with a dose.

On the 20th (local time), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that it had seized 50.6 million fentanyl pills and 10,000 pounds (lb) of fentanyl powder this year, totaling 379 million doses. This amount is enough to kill the entire U.S. population of 332 million people.

Fentanyl is classified by the DEA as 'the deadliest drug facing the United States.' It is a synthetic opioid painkiller with strong addictive properties and is over 50 times more toxic than heroin. Just 2 mg?the amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil?can kill a person.

In fact, deaths from fentanyl overdose, a narcotic painkiller, are rapidly increasing in the U.S. According to The Washington Post (WP), illegal fentanyl is now the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 49. The number of fentanyl-related deaths increased by 94% compared to 2019, surpassing deaths from traffic accidents, gun violence, and suicide.

This has resulted in a record number of fatalities. Last year, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. exceeded 100,000 (107,622) for the first time. This number is higher than the combined deaths from car accidents and gun incidents. Two-thirds of these deaths were due to fentanyl overdose.

Drug problems in the U.S. are not new, but fentanyl is shaking up the drug market to the extent that it has become a societal issue. Fentanyl, mainly prescribed to terminal cancer patients as a narcotic painkiller, is more addictive and deadly than heroin. Unlike traditional plant-based drugs, it can be mass-produced quickly using chemical compounds alone, earning it the nickname 'the ultimate synthetic drug.'

Its small pill form also makes it easy to transport. WP recently reported in a special feature that Mexican cartels have set up 'secret factories' to produce fentanyl themselves. They also revealed that only a tiny fraction of the 219,000 Mexican vehicles crossing the border into the U.S. are inspected.

Despite this situation, it is estimated that only about 5-10% of drugs entering from Mexico are seized. Effectively, stopping fentanyl trafficking is impossible.

The DEA is focusing its efforts on dismantling the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels, Mexican drug crime organizations identified as the main suppliers of fentanyl distributed in the U.S. According to the DEA, these two groups mass-produce fentanyl in secret factories in Mexico using chemicals sourced from China and smuggle it.

In particular, they manufacture pills that look similar to legally prescribed medications but actually contain fentanyl, distributing them through social networking services (SNS) and other channels. DEA tests last month showed that 6 out of 10 of these counterfeit pills contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.