Fenanyl

Out of sight, out of mind is an old adage that rings true in all too many situations. For most Americans the problems associated with drug abuse are out of sight and thus the scourge of fentanyl is something that is not of great concern to most. In the past few years fentanyl has come to the attention of many but prior to that it was other more common opiates. The United States consumes 85% of all the world's natural and synthetic opiates, which in 2015 factored in 33,000 deaths. Most of the fentanyl in the US came from China but a couple of years ago China made it illegal to manufacture fentanyl so now you must go on line and purchase the starter chemical from more than 100 sites in China. These chemicals are then combined by people who know little to nothing about chemistry to synthesize fentanyl. Fentanyl is mixed with other less powerful opiates like heroin and sold as a powder or pressed into pill form. Since fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than morphine it can be used to increase the pushers supply of heroin. Using the ingredients purchased on line from sources in China a three step process is used to make fentanyl. It uses complicated organic chemicals and complex reactions such as alkylation and reductive amination. It is estimated that 80,000 died from fentanyl overdose in 2021. If for no other reason this should be the incentive to get control of the southern border.