Fentanyl’s catastrophic surge came after the Drug Enforcement Administration cracked down on the excesses of the U.S. opioid industry. Millions of Americans who had become addicted to prescription pain pills suddenly found them difficult or impossible to get.
Mexican cartels stepped in to fill the vacuum. Traffickers, who relied for decades on plant-based drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana, are now using chemicals in clandestine laboratories to manufacture fentanyl powder and pills to meet the ever-increasing demand in the United States.
Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, and its compactness makes it far easier to smuggle. The synthetic opioid is so powerful that a year’s supply of pure fentanyl powder for the U.S. market would fit in the beds of two pickup trucks.
Fentanyl’s recent surge came after the DEA cracked down on the U.S. opioid industry.
Millions of Americans who had become addicted to prescription pain pills then found them difficult or impossible to get.
Mexican cartels stepped in to fill the vacuum. https://t.co/UnPmsHY5Z2
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 12, 2022