Attorney General Ashley Moody is warning Floridians about the dangers of synthetic opioids in recognition of the first-ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more deadly than morphine—just two milligrams is enough to kill a full-grown adult—and oftentimes laced in counterfeit pills. The poisonous drug is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45.
According to a release from the National Institutes of Health, law enforcement across the country seized nearly 10 million counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl in 2021—a 50-fold increase in just three years.
Per a report from the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, Mexico is now the top importer of fentanyl into the United States. Drug cartels are exploiting the border chaos to traffic drugs into the country.
Moody said, “The shocking increase in the number of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl should concern everyone, especially President Biden, who continues to ignore federal immigration laws—paving the way for these dangerous drugs to flood into our country. Nobody should use illicit drugs. Not only are they illegal, but they can be lethal. On this first-ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day, I am demanding that Biden take action and reminding Floridians that just one laced pill can kill.”
According to the latest data available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, since President Joe Biden took office, enough fentanyl has been seized at the U.S. southwest border to kill every man, woman and child in the U.S. seven times over.
In January, Attorney General Moody sent a letter to President Biden demanding the immediate enforcement of federal immigration law to stop the influx of this deadly synthetic opioid.
That same month, Attorney General Moody urged the U.S. Department of State to take a tougher approach on stemming the influx of deadly fentanyl into Florida and the nation as a whole.
In April, Attorney General Moody brought a new multistate action against the Biden administration over its lack of enforcement of federal immigration laws. These lax policies exacerbate the opioid crisis by allowing record amounts of fentanyl to flood across the southwest border.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently issued a nationwide warning of fentanyl-related mass overdose events. The letter states that during a 12-month period, ending in October 2021, more than 105,000 Americans died of drug overdoses—more than 66% of those deaths were related to fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.
Attorney General Moody is sharing tips from the DEA to help parents talk to children about the dangers of illicit drug use. To help prevent opioid abuse:
- Be honest and direct when talking about drugs, temptations and addictions;
- Give praise when a child achieves successes as it may give them the confidence required to reject drugs;
- Inform children about the legal consequences of using drugs;
- Discuss the life-long consequences of addiction; and
- Conduct research and connect with other parents and advisors in order to provide well-informed guidance and information.
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