War On Drugs: US Authorities Seized Enough Fentanyl “To Kill All Americans” In 2022

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The latest photo from the Alameda County Sheriffs Office shows around 40 kilos of fetanyl seized

Photo: HANDOUT/AFP

According to the US authorities, this year seized such a large quantity of the drug fentanyl that it could theoretically kill the entire US population.

The American drug agency DEA said on Tuesday that 50.6 million fentanyl pills and more than 4,500 kilograms of fentanyl powder had been confiscated in 2022.

This equates to an estimated "more than 379 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl" -- enough "to kill all Americans."

An estimated 333 million people live in the United States.

"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat to this country," the DEA said.

“It's a highly addictive man-made opioid that's 50 times more potent than heroin.

Just two milligrams of fentanyl, the small amount that fits on the tip of a pen, is considered a potentially lethal dose.”

Fentanyl is becoming a growing problem in the US.

US authorities blame the drug for most of the more than 107,000 fatal overdoses in the country between July 2021 and June 2022.

The synthetic opioid is a very strong pain reliever.

It is mainly used in cancer therapy for the breakthrough pain that is typical of the disease, but is also used in palliative care, as well as for severe, chronic pain.

It is also used in anesthesia in combination with sleeping pills and postoperatively.

The active ingredient was brought onto the market in the 1960s by the Belgian chemist Paul Janssen.

It has similar properties to morphine, but is many times stronger.

For a comparable effect, fentanyl requires significantly less active ingredient - which is why it is considered difficult to dose.

In addition to relieving pain, the active ingredient can make you euphoric - this also increases the potential for dependency.

Fentanyl is relatively easy to manufacture and inexpensive.

According to the DEA, the main sources of fentanyl in the US are the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels in Mexico.

The chemicals required for production come primarily from China.

aar/AFP