A Drug Enforcement Administration chemist pours 2,500 packs of confirmed fentanyl onto a counter for testing at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)
Two milligrams and 10 minutes can be the difference between life and death when it comes to fentanyl.
America’s ongoing battle against the potent, illegal synthetic opioid flooding across the southern border hit another milestone this year when U.S. security officials and legislators declared fentanyl a national security threat.
Medical and security professionals say the drug could be used in a terrorist attack against the United States.
In fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 27,000 pounds of the drug, enough for more than 6 billion potentially lethal doses and more than an 83 percent spike from the previous year.
In 2022, 73,654 deaths were attributed to fentanyl overdose. That’s double the number of mortalities in 2019. Research shows that 68 percent of the 107,081 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2022 were from opioids. Most of these are attributed to illegally manufactured fentanyl.
When observed through the lens of warfare, fentanyl killed more Americans in one year than the total number of casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg. The tally of fentanyl-related deaths in 2022 also surpasses the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action during the Normandy invasion in World War II and the number of American deaths in the entirety of the Vietnam War, which totaled 58,200.
Medical and security insiders say fentanyl’s potential as a chemical weapon can’t be overstated. A tiny amount of the drug in the human bloodstream can kill. Fentanyl is odorless and tasteless, and a lethal dose can be as small as two milligrams. For perspective, that’s the amount of five grains of table salt.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that 6 out of 10 illicit pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. A lethal dose is two milligrams, about the amount on the tip of this pencil. (Courtesy DEA)
Regardless of how it enters the body, deadly side effects can occur within minutes. Even more alarming, enough fentanyl is smuggled into the United States every month to kill every single American, according to an article originally published in Missouri Medicine.
“A terror organization or hostile nation-state could undoubtedly devastate the United States with organized, innovative, surreptitious fentanyl poisoning,” said Dr. John C. Hagan III, the article’s author,
Russia has already gotten the ball rolling by using a “fentanyl derivative” as a chemical weapon. In October 2022, the Russian military reportedly used the drug as an ”incapacitating agent” during an alleged hostage scenario in a Moscow theater. After deploying the weaponized opioid derivative, 127 hostages died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I think the fentanyl proliferation is one of the top long-term national security threats the U.S. is facing. Fentanyl is deadly, highly addictive, difficult to detect, and ubiquitous. It can be easily mistaken for another drug or even for a non-narcotic substance,” national security lawyer and analyst Irina Tsukerman told The Epoch Times.
Last year, multiple state attorneys general and Republican legislators pushed the Biden administration to label fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The White House announced plans to spend $450 million on “prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support services” related to America’s fentanyl crisis and another $800 million to reduce the influx of illegal opioids into the country.
But for people working up close and personal with America’s opioid epidemic, fentanyl’s devastating consequences aren’t just numbers on paper. The drug is destroying families, health care workers, and law enforcement resources.
“Illicit fentanyl is plaguing our communities, and our law enforcement officers are on the front lines fighting this crisis ... the top issue for our officers is that they do not have enough resources to handle the exponential increase of overdoses,” Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said in a June 30 statement.
One Pill Can Kill
Accidental exposure to counterfeit prescription pills accounts for a growing number of fentanyl-related deaths.
“Anyone from any background could accidentally take fentanyl and become addicted or OD instantaneously. It’s a unique threat compared to other drugs in that personal choices and avoidance play a limited role and do not protect communities from danger,” Ms. Tsukerman said.
Overdose deaths from counterfeit medication laced with fentanyl more than doubled from July 2019 to September 2019 and October 2021 to December 2021, according to a recent CDC report. Cheaper medications bought online for a fraction of the retail price are a powerful allure for many, especially since U.S. prescription drug prices are astronomical compared to many countries.
One analysis revealed U.S. prescription prices were an average of 150 percent higher than 32 other countries. The high prices, combined with high rates of addiction, have driven a booming industry of counterfeit pills, particularly painkillers. Most of these are smuggled across the U.S.–Mexican border after being produced in Mexico with precursor chemicals from China.
“The Department of Homeland Security’s assessment of fentanyl as a national security threat is, in my opinion, accurate,” Dr. Ryan Sultan, a substance abuse therapist and director of the Mental Health Informatics Lab at Columbia University, told The Epoch Times.
“This isn’t merely about the drug’s potency, which is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. The illicit manufacturing, trafficking, and the ease with which fentanyl can be incorporated into other drugs make it a significant threat on multiple fronts.”
Dr. Sultan maintains that America’s fentanyl crisis stems primarily from its illicit use. He also agrees that many people come into contact with the dangerous opioid unknowingly since it’s often mixed with other drugs. Fentanyl can be sprinkled into a bag of cocaine or just as easily mixed into a fake prescription pill.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, accompanied by Anne Milgram, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, looks at photographs of people who had died from drugs during the Second Annual Family Summit on Fentanyl at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters on Sept. 26, 2023. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
“In my profession, I’ve encountered individuals and their families devastated by fentanyl, whether through accidental overdose or unknowing consumption of laced substances. These narratives are a stark reminder of the crisis’s human toll,” he said.
But not everyone encountering fentanyl by accident is trying to buy cheap prescriptions or recreational drugs. In September, children at a New York day care center encountered fentanyl hidden near a play area, which poisoned three children and killed a fourth.
“It’s evident to professionals in various sectors that the fentanyl crisis is not merely a health issue. Given its implications on public safety, its role in organized crime, and its potential as a substance for bioterrorism, it would likely rank high among national security threats,” Dr. Sultan said.
For others, working closely with America’s opioid epidemic is personal.
“We are in the trenches. I’ve personally saved a friend with CPR and Narcan,” Adam Justice, CEO of Drug Test City, told The Epoch Times.
Narcan is a brand name for naloxone, a life-saving medication that can reverse opioid overdoses if it’s administered in a timely fashion. Mr. Justice’s company sells fentanyl drug tests and works closely with rehabilitation centers, sober living houses, and doctors to facilitate adequate testing. He believes that if it weren’t for drugs such as naloxone, public outrage would’ve already sparked a “wider crackdown” on illegal fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is definitely a national security threat because of its potential as a chemical weapon, and as a public health crisis. I’m really surprised we aren’t seeing more people harmed in targeted attacks, but they may be misidentified as an accidental overdose,” he said.
Dr. Michael H. Lowenstein, medical director for the Waismann Method Rapid Detox Center, agrees.
“From a security perspective, fentanyl poses a significant threat, albeit different in nature compared to other national security challenges. Its role in exacerbating the opioid crisis, the involvement of international drug trafficking organizations, and its potential use as a weapon all pose serious considerations for national security,” he told The Epoch Times.
Based on 30 years of experience detoxing patients from opioids, he said the illegal production and distribution of fentanyl has led to a “dramatic surge” in overdose deaths and has propelled a public health crisis.
Stopping the Flow
The flow of illicit fentanyl coming across America’s southern border also intersects with the illegal immigration crisis.
During a July 19 U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) underscored how Mexican cartels use illegal immigrants to distract U.S. border agents.
“Cartels purposefully overwhelm Border Patrol agents with illegal crossers in one area as a distraction, so they can smuggle other aliens or drugs across in the areas just vacated by those agents,” Mr. Green said.
U.S. border security officials have confirmed this, emphasizing a need for more resources to simultaneously tackle the unabated flow of illegal fentanyl and border-crossers.
Ms. Tsukerman agrees that the U.S. opioid epidemic is being compounded by illegal immigrants and the number of unvetted people—including criminals, as well as those on the terror watchlist—arriving from Latin America.
“Such groups are vulnerable to penetration and are also more likely to contribute to the distribution of fentanyl in the communities where they are located,” she said.
Ultimately, Ms. Tsukerman says solutions must involve an awareness campaign. Both Dr. Lowenstein and Dr. Sultan agree with this.
“Public education on the risks posed by illicit drug use and the availability of fentanyl test strips and naloxone ... can be life-saving,” Dr. Lowenstein said.
Dr. Sultan concurred, noting that there needs to be a multipronged approach to stopping the flow of fentanyl at the U.S. borders. He believes that efforts should be concentrated on fentanyl shipments arriving from overseas in addition to the production and trafficking on the Mexico end.
Illegal opioids bound for America’s shores come not just from China, but also India. In 2020, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified India as an emerging source of “finished fentanyl powder” and “fentanyl precursor chemicals.”
“Fentanyl distribution should be treated as an act of war and an intelligence operation, not a criminal or drug enforcement problem,” Ms. Tsukerman said. “This is an active measure and a political act towards influencing and weakening the U.S. and should have political and operative consequences.”
