(The Hill) – The number of seizures of fentanyl by law enforcement quadrupled between 2017 and 2023, and researchers found that the drug has continued to entrench itself in the supply of il· legal drug of the country.
Fentanyl seizures in the United States have followed an exponential upward trend since 2017, according to data from the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Researchers in the study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), obtained data from the HIDTA.
About 50,000 pills containing fentanyl were seized in 2017, but the number is set to soar to more than 115 million pills by 2023.
Fentanyl in pill form is becoming more common, with pills accounting for about half of illicit fentanyl seizures last year, compared to 10% in 2017.
“The main finding is how quickly fentanyl enters the country disguised as copycat pills,” NIDA Director Nora Volkow told The Hill. “I also have to say that the total number of offers is gigantic, which is very worrying.”
The driver behind 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 trafficking total fentanyl, mainly across the borders with Mexico and Canada.
The Drug Enforcement Administration cites China as the primary source of fentanyl that is eventually smuggled into the US
Earlier this month, the House Select Committee on Strategic Competence between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party released a report alleging that the Chinese government directly subsidizes the manufacture and export of illicit fentanyl.
“While 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 that thousands of PRC companies are openly selling these illicit materials on China’s heavily monitored worldwide network,” the committee said.
According to Volkow, a common way that fentanyl-containing pills reach U.S. residents is through online purchases. Pain patients whose doctors won’t prescribe opioids are turning to the Internet, where pills are more accessible and cost less.
These shoppers aren’t looking for fentanyl and most likely don’t know that the drug they bought online has been cut with the very powerful opioid. Volkow observed a troubling trend regarding the demographics of shoppers.
“We’re seeing a significant increase in older people who are 65 to 74 years old who are dying from overdose fatalities. And 65 to 74 are not people coming in looking for heroin,” Volkow said. “We saw an increase between the ages of 15 and 19. And these kids aren’t looking for heroin or fentanyl.”
In 2023, Florida had the highest number of fentanyl seizures, followed by Arizona and California. California was found to have the highest number of total pills containing illicit fentanyl, with more than 38 million pills seized last year.
Regionally, the West accounted for the most pills seized in the US, with the Northeast accounting for the fewest.
“An important finding was the growth of fentanyl seizures in the West compared to the other regions of the US. In 2023, the West had the plurality or majority on all measures except the number of gunpowder seizures, which were highest in the South. While the South had more gunpowder seizures, a greater weight of gunpowder (and total weight) was seized in the West,” the report states.
“In fact, fentanyl seizures were initially less common in the West, but now the West largely dominates in terms of the number and size of seizures, especially for pills.”
Volkow said the main reason drug dealers are pumping more fentanyl into the US is “greed.”
“You make a lot more money with fentanyl than you do with heroin, at least 50 times more,” he said. “The other aspect is that it’s relatively easy to synthesize and manufacture. And because it’s so potent, which is the third thing, you can deliver a small volume and in the small volume … you can basically extract thousands of multiple 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 inexpensive.
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