California Seized Enough Fentanyl to Potentially Kill the Entire Population of North America, Twice

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom released the following statement on the end-of-year numbers in California’s comprehensive and historic fight toward ending the opioid epidemic.

“The opioid crisis has touched every part of California, and our nation, this year. As we mourn the many lives lost, California is working harder than ever to fight this crisis and protect people from these dangerous drugs to ensure our communities are kept safe in the first place,” said Governor Newsom. “California is cracking down on the fentanyl crisis – increasing seizures, making resources more available to Californians, and ensuring communities have what they need to combat the immeasurable harm opioids have caused our society, our communities, and our loved ones.”

Governor Gavin Newom’s Office

KEY NUMBERS:

• MORE THAN $1 BILLION INVESTED since the beginning of the Newsom Administration to address the opioid crisis, with CalHHS investing $450 Million in the current fiscal year.

• 28,765 POUNDS SEIZED by law enforcement with support from the California National Guard in support of law enforcement during 2022, an estimated street value of more than $230 Million and saving potentially hundreds of millions of lives according to the DEA.

• 594% INCREASE IN FENTANYL SEIZED by law enforcement with help from the California National Guard compared to 2021.

• 166 NEW GUARD MEMBERS hired, trained, and embedded by California’s National Guard to support the Governor’s initiative to reduce deadly fentanyl in communities.

RECENT ACTION: The state is making millions of dollars in grants available to address the ongoing opioid epidemic. Yesterday, CDPH announced it will bolster efforts to raise awareness of the life-saving drug Naloxone by working with colleges and universities across California.

On Tuesday, DHCS announced that millions of dollars in grants are available to help improve patient care in the areas of substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, and addictions. Last week, DHCS announced that millions of dollars in new grants were now available to tackle youth opioid use, including schools and other nonprofit organizations.

In July, the state of California received more than $100 million as part of the national opioid settlement with multiple major pharmaceutical companies.

And as part of last year’s budget, Governor Newsom provided additional funding to increase the California National Guard’s capacity to combat the fentanyl crisis and support federal, state and local law enforcement counter-narcotic investigations and operations.

Drug Enforcement Administration Announces the Seizure of Over 379 Million Deadly Doses of Fentanyl in 2022

MIAMI – As 2022 comes to an end, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is announcing the seizure of over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder this calendar year. The DEA Laboratory estimates that these seizures represent more than 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.

Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing this country. It is a highly addictive man-made opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, the small amount that fits on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially deadly dose.

In Florida, DEA seized over 345,000 fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and more than 273 pounds of fentanyl powder this calendar year, representing more than 9 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.

“In the past year, the men and women of the DEA have relentlessly worked to seize over 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl from communities across the country,” said Administrator Anne Milgram. “These seizures – enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American – reflect DEA’s unwavering commitment to protect Americans and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing those responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl across the United States. DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels—the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels—that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today.”

Most of the fentanyl trafficked by the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely from China. In 2021, the DEA issued a Public Safety Alert on the widespread drug trafficking of fentanyl in the form of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills. These pills are made to look identical to real prescription medications—including OxyContin®, Percocet®, and Xanax®—but only contain filler and fentanyl and are often deadly. Fake pills are readily found on social media. No pharmaceutical pill bought on social media is safe. The only safe medications are ones prescribed directly to you by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.

Just last month, DEA alerted the public to a sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills.  DEA laboratory testing in 2022 revealed that six out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. This is an increase from DEA’s announcement in 2021 that four out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain a potentially deadly dose.

In 2022, DEA seized more than double the amount of fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills that it seized in 2021. DEA also seized nearly 131,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 4,300 pounds of heroin, and over 444,000 pounds of cocaine. DEA is now providing a regularly updated counter at http://www.dea.gov to track approximate amounts of fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder seized by DEA.

DEA has created a Faces of Fentanyl memorial to commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning. To submit a photo of a loved one lost to fentanyl, please send their name, age, and photograph to [email protected], or post a photo and their name to social media using the hashtag #JustKNOW.

The DEA encourages parents, teachers, care givers, guardians, and children to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com , www.CampusDrugPrevention.gov , and www.dea.gov.