By Steve Neavling
The DEA seized a record amount of fentanyl in 2023 – enough to kill every American and then some, the agency announced.
The agency seized more than 77 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. That equates to 386 million deadly doses.
“The dedicated women and men of DEA are doing everything in our power to battle the fentanyl scourge that is destroying our communities, but we’re essentially drinking water from a firehose,” J. Todd Scott, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Louisville Field Division, said. “This is not a problem that can be solved by law enforcement alone.”
Fentanyl is also more potent than ever. According to DEA lab tests last year, seven out of 10 pills contained a potentially fatal dose of fentanyl. That’s compared to four out of 10 pills in 2021 and six out of 10 pills in 2022.
In a 12-month period ending in June 2023, more than 112,300 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death in Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, according to the DEA.
The DEA said it’s dedicated to “defeating” the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel, which are believed to be the primary sources of fentanyl in the U.S.
