Join Jeremy Kelsay, the founder of “Every 11 Minutes,” as he appears on Dr. Phil Primetime’s Morning on Merritt Street to address the growing fentanyl crisis. Discover shocking new statistics revealing a death every 5 minutes due to this crisis. Dive into conversations about innovative harm reduction strategies to tackle opioid addiction and find sustainable solutions. Tune in for crucial insights and discussions on combating this urgent issue.
Category: National News
De Minimis – Facilitator of Illicit Fentanyl to Your Doorstep
This video explains the De Minimis Bill which is aimed to close a loophole which is allowing Fentanyl to enter the United States clothing and other items purchased overseas.
22JAX – For Y’all featuring Lady Dice
NC advocates to join national rally on fentanyl crisis in U.S.
Advocates who are fighting to keep fentanyl off the streets say more needs to be done. ABC11 (Raleigh) interviewed Patricia Drewes and Beth Moore for this story.
The Fentanyl Death Crisis in America
Medication for reversing overdose is life-saving—if used quickly and correctly.
KEY POINTS
- Fentanyl is a major threat causing overdose deaths in the United States.
- Young people are unknowingly taking fentanyl and dying.
- Fentanyl smoking is contributing to overdose and speedballing deaths.
- Government and private agencies are cracking down on illegal fentanyl, but it’s an uphill fight.
“It is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced.” says Anne Milgram, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), referring to the threat of fentanyl in the United States. She should know.
We still have record deaths, and that’s after the DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder so far in 2024 . The fentanyl seizures represent more than 157.6 million deadly doses; 70% of the counterfeit pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Sometimes, the drug is smoked and as with intravenous injection, speeds access to the brain, further endangering users.
The best new prevention approach, the “One Pill Can Kill” initiative led by the DEA, is amplified by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and other volunteers educating the public and seeking to prevent flooding of the U.S. with fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills resembling Xanax, Oxycontin, Adderall, Vicodin and other popular prescription medications—but with a deadly twist. The counterfeit pills, more often than not, contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
“CADCA and its 7,000 coalition members across the nation have worked tirelessly to address the issue of fentanyl-laced fake pills that are poisoning our nation’s youth by planning and implementing comprehensive, data-driven strategies, with multiple public and private partners to address community conditions causing this problem,” said CADCA’s president and CEO, retired Army general Barrye L. Price.
Continue reading “The Fentanyl Death Crisis in America”UNC lab analyzing, identifying substances in street drugs
Since 2021, the lab has tested about 5,600 samples, identifying more than 270 different substances.
Scientists inside a room at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Caudill Labs are doing work that’s not happening anywhere else in the country. They’re receiving thousands of street drug samples, running them through a machine to get a real-time look at what’s in them.
“Normally, we don’t find out what is in street drugs until it is too late — when people are either dead or arrested,” said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta, the senior scientist at UNC’s Street Drug Analysis Lab. “There’s no opportunity for prevention; no opportunity for recovery.”
The scientists don’t need much to test — just a sample less than a grain of rice. About 200 public health organizations, including 34 in North Carolina, send in kits with samples.
Continue reading “UNC lab analyzing, identifying substances in street drugs”Pill press molds used to produce illicit fentanyl targeted in legislation in Congress
by Lia Chien, NC Newsline
May 30, 2024
WASHINGTON – Bipartisan legislation pushed in both chambers of Congress aims to stop illegal fentanyl production and trafficking by focusing on the machinery used to manufacture pills.
The Criminalizing Abused Substance Templates, or CAST, Act would redefine the criminal penalty for producing counterfeit drugs using a pill press. Counterfeiting drugs is already illegal as outlined in the Controlled Substances Act but no penalty is included in the law.
Under CAST, it would be illegal to possess a pill press mold with the intent to produce schedule I or II drugs, a crime punishable for up to 20 years.
CAST was introduced in the House by Reps. Abigail Spanberger, a Virginia Democrat, and David Kustoff, a Tennessee Republican, in October 2019 and it was reintroduced in March 2023.
The bill got a boost earlier this month when Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced it in the upper chamber.
Overdoses and deaths
The bill particularly targets the production and distribution of opioids, especially fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid with an incredibly high potency, about 100 times more than morphine. As a result, it’s often mixed into other drugs to increase strength, sometimes in lethal doses.
Synthetic opioids are the main drivers of opioid overdoses. Between 2020 and 2021, deaths involving synthetic opioids like illegally made fentanyl rose by 55%, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Opioid-related and other drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 people are highest in West Virginia, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Tennessee and Kentucky.
Lawmakers attribute this rise in fentanyl-related deaths to the counterfeit market and drug trafficking.
“The overdose crisis and the rising scourge of fentanyl are undoubtedly made worse by the rise in use of illicit pill presses to manufacture counterfeit drugs,” Spanberger said in a statement about her legislation.
“By stepping up penalties for narcotics traffickers who use illicit pill presses to manufacture drugs, our bipartisan legislation would empower our law enforcement officers to crack down on these criminals and prevent dangerous substances — such as fentanyl — from being pressed into illicit pills and sold on our streets.”
Much of the illicit fentanyl sold in the U.S. contains at least a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, 2 mg. A DEA study found that 42% of tested pills contained this amount or more, some as much as 5.1 mg.
Lawmakers said they want to ensure law enforcement officials have the necessary tools to stop the production and sale of these drugs.
“Strengthening penalties for the criminals creating these counterfeit drugs can help get them off the market,” said Hassan in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation will help ensure that law enforcement officials have the tools that they need to crack down on criminals making counterfeit drugs.”
According to the DEA, because lethal doses of fentanyl are often mixed in with other drugs, it can be “possible for someone to take a pill without knowing it contains fentanyl.” Cassidy said the CAST Act could prevent these deaths.
“No one should have to worry if their medicines are counterfeit or laced with fentanyl,” he said.
NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com. Follow NC Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.
America’s Drug Crisis: Is Government Doing Enough?
Join host Tim Constantine on this gripping episode of The Capitol Hill Show as we delve deep into the heart of America’s drug crisis. With opioid overdoses skyrocketing and communities across the nation in turmoil, it’s time to confront the harsh realities head-on.
In this episode, Tim sits down with a diverse panel of guests including Senator James Lankford, a leading voice in the fight against drugs, drug counsellors who are on the ground working the frontlines, and a brave mother – April Babcock, who tragically lost her son to the deadly grip of fentanyl.
Maryland Death by Distribution Law
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly are hearing bills to prohibit the distribution of heroin and fentanyl without lawful authority to do so. Victoria & Scottie’s Law is named in honor of two individuals who died from fentanyl overdoses. The bill would impose up to 20 years of imprisonment on anyone convicted of selling these substances that lead to serious bodily injury or death.
Senate Lawmakers Issue ‘Urgent Request’ to President Biden to Close De Minimis ‘Loophole’
Two U.S. senators penned an “urgent request” to President Joe Biden this weekend, pushing for the use of executive authority to end the de minimis trade “loophole.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Oh.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fl.) on Saturday sent an open letter to the president asking him to end duty-free treatment for e-commerce shipments worth under $800-an exemption created by Section 321 of the Tariff Act.
According to the lawmakers, the rule is being exploited to facilitate “the import of illegal products, goods produced with forced labor, and other contraband to the detriment of U.S. manufacturers, workers and communities.” De minimis doesn’t just provide foreign shippers with financial benefits, they argued-it also allows bad actors to circumvent customs enforcement, as individual packages of lower value often enter the country “with minimal to zero inspections.”
The legislators said that Chinese goods made with forced labor “appear to be the heaviest users of de minimis, undermining enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).” About 3 million parcels enter the country each day using the de minimis rule, and they pose an “elevated risk” of being made with forced labor, containing counterfeit products or contributing to the fentanyl crisis, as drugs have been smuggled in small, low-value shipments.
Continue reading “Senate Lawmakers Issue ‘Urgent Request’ to President Biden to Close De Minimis ‘Loophole’”