Fentanyl, which in doses as small as 2 milligrams can kill the average person, is largely responsible for over 108,000 drug deaths that occurred in 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel are putting illicit fentanyl into pills that look like prescription drugs to deliberately trick Americans.
The cartels are using chemicals largely made in China to mass produce the pills in clandestine labs. The DEA recently warned about the emergence of “Rainbow fentanyl,” which are candy-colored pills likely made by the cartels to entice young people.
The Biden administration’s drug control strategy targets “untreated addiction and drug trafficking,” focusing on helping drug users, providing more resources to border authorities and working with foreign partners to stem the flow of illicit narcotics.
“Oh my gosh, at least do a public awareness campaign,” Babcock said. “It has to come from your White House down. Label the cartels a foreign terrorist organization. We want illicit fentanyl and its analogues on a weapon of mass destruction list. That’s what they need to do.”
“There’s stockpiles of fentanyl in America,” Babcock said. “Where is it? Who can get their hands on it? Then we have cartel hubs all across the United States. Do they have stockpiles of fentanyl? When is it gonna get in our water supply? Our air supply?”
