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Biden directs federal agencies to amp up war on fentanyl

By and 07/31/2024 | updated 1 year ago

President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies across the government to take drastic action to quell the flow of fentanyl entering the United States, an action that comes nearly three months ahead of the election.

Biden issued a national security memorandum on Wednesday that will amp up the U.S. war on drugs, specifically targeting opioids, which are the No. 1 cause of death in adults ages 18 to 45.

“It will enable our government to disrupt drug cartels — and their suppliers and financiers — more quickly and effectively. It will increase intelligence collection on traffickers’ evolving tactics to smuggle narcotics into our country,” Biden said in a statement. “And it will help our law enforcement personnel seize more deadly drugs before they reach our communities.”

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As part of the Wednesday memo, Biden also called for the fentanyl antidote naloxone to be further expanded so that the drug-reversing medication can be readily available.

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Federal agencies and departments will be able to collect more intelligence and should increasingly cooperate in targeting the producers, distributors, and financial networks involved in operations, the memorandum stated. The memo largely leaves exactly how agencies should respond up to officials.

The amount of fentanyl seized in the U.S. annually has soared since U.S. Customs and Border Protection first intercepted a few pounds of fentanyl at the border in fiscal 2013.

Over the past five months, the federal government has seized more than 442 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl at the border.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In addition, Texas law enforcement has stopped more than half a billion potentially lethal doses from making it deeper into the country — meaning it slipped past federal law enforcement only to be caught by police in Texas.

The ingredients for fentanyl are sent to Mexico from manufacturers in China. Mexican drug cartels create the final product and then move it into the U.S. and distribute it.

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