DEA Issues Public Safety Alert Two Days After British Tourist Dies of Fentanyl Overdose in Florida

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized approximately 47,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills, 186,000 blue fentanyl pills, and 6.5 pounds of meth hidden in a floor compartment of a vehicle at the Nogales port of entry on the southern border with Mexico on Sept. 3, 2022. U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Two days after a British tourist died of a fentanyl overdose in Florida, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Public Safety Alert.

On Nov. 20, 40-year-old British tourist Philip Weybourne died while vacationing at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. An autopsy revealed it was due to fatal levels of fentanyl in his system. Two days later, the DEA issued a Public Safety Alert regarding the sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills. The DEA also hosted regional family summits across the nation in support of those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning. The DEA Miami Field Division invited families from Florida to the Family Summit held in Coral Springs, Florida on Nov. 17.

According to a report (pdf) issued in March 2022, Florida had the highest number of total fentanyl deaths in 2021, double that of the year 2020.

On July 15, the DEA Miami Field Division issued a Public Safety Alert to warn Florida communities of the spike in mass overdose events across the Sunshine State suspected to be tied to drugs laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine. As little as two milligrams, the equivalent of five grains of salt, can be fatal.

In May 2017, then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declaring a national opioid epidemic, Governor Rick Scott signed Executive Order 17-146 directing a Public Health Emergency across the state. Five years later, newly reelected Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 95, which enhances penalties for the sale and distribution of opioids in Florida, including fentanyl.

As previously reported by The Epoch Times, Dr. Kenneth Scheppke, Deputy Secretary for Health at the Florida Department of Health said that fentanyl-related overdoses have increased by almost 800 percent in Florida since 2015.

Inquiries to the DEA Miami Field Division were referred to the national office. Inquiries to the national office were declined as they “do not have anyone available” to answer questions as to why officials are having so much trouble getting a handle on the fentanyl epidemic. However, according to a former addict, author, Crisis Coach and CEO of Confidential Recovery Scott H. Silverman, it’s a matter of supply and demand.

Silverman told The Epoch Times that blaming the DEA for the surge in fentanyl use “is like blaming Jack Daniels for alcoholism.”

While Mexico is the leading supplier of fentanyl and synthetic opioids as well as the chemicals to produce fentanyl, the most recent data, and projections, the United States leads the global market share of legally produced fentanyl.

“The demand is too high,” Silverman said. “Why would manufacturers sell to any other country when the United States consumes so much they can’t manufacture enough of it? It’s the perfect storm.” Silverman warned that, until leadership on local, state, regional, and federal levels realize they “have to make this as important as COVID, nothing is going to change. ”