Last November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 100,000 overdose deaths in the United States, a new record. This count represented a 30% increase over the previous year, a number driven by fentanyl and related substances. A hundred times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is a deadly scourge.Fentanyl is often found in counterfeit pills that look like legitimate medication – 1 kilogram can contain 500,000 lethal doses. Since 2013, China has been a major source of fentanyl-related substances and the chemicals from which they are produced. The drugs are often manufactured in Mexico using Chinese components and smuggled across the southwest border. Fentanyl seizures along the border increased by 89% from January 2019 throu
