The California National Guard intercepted thousands of pounds of deadly fentanyl at ports of entry, enough to kill the entire global population ‘nearly twice over,’ according to the governor.
The National Guard, or CalGuard, worked with other government drug interdiction offices to seize a record 62,000 pounds of fentanyl, a 1,066 percent increase since the 5,300 pounds seized in 2021,
It is unclear whether more was seized this past year due to an increased number of officers or whether drug traffickers are massively scaling up production.
The deluge of fentanyl in the drug supply began in the early 2010s, the start of what health experts and government bodies have dubbed the third wave of the opioid epidemic, which claimed the lives of over 100,000 Americans in 2022 alone. Fentanyl was involved in 70 percent of those deaths.
The California National Guard made record-breaking seizures of over 62,000 pounds of fentanyl in in 2023, a 1,066 percent increase since the 5,300 pounds seized in 2021
One of those communities most acutely affected is the city of San Francisco where the fentanyl and burgeoning xylazine crisis is taking a devastating toll on residents there
Just two milligrams of fentanyl – equal to around 10 grains of table salt – is a deadly dose.
The drug has infiltrated the illicit drug supply because it’s relatively cheap to manufacture, and more often than not, pills sold on the street billed as something else, like a benzodiazepine, are laced with the drug.
California Gov Gavin Newsom said: ‘Fentanyl is a poison, and it does not belong in our communities. California is cracking down – increasing seizures, expanding access to substance abuse treatment, and holding drug traffickers accountable to combat the immeasurable harm opioids have caused our communities.’
In 2021, there were nearly 6,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in California. In just three years, between 2019 and 2021, California’s opioid-related deaths spiked 121 percent, according to the state’s health department. The vast majority of these deaths were linked to fentanyl.
One of those communities most acutely affected is the city of San Francisco, where a desperate situation is playing out in real-time and made evident in grim images showing people high and slumped over on the street or actively using drugs in the open.
Gov Newsom deployed the state National Guard and the California Highway Patrol there in May last year.
The crisis in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods is also being driven by the rise of the veterinary tranquilizer Xylazine lacing drugs sold on the street.
Over 800 people died of an overdose in San Francisco in 2023, an all-time record. The vast majority of those deaths – 653 – were attributed to fentanyl.
The city reported 806 overdose deaths in 2023, topping its highest year on record, 2020, when 726 people died
Gov Newsom added: ‘California is cracking down — increasing seizures, expanding access to substance abuse treatment, and holding drug traffickers accountable to combat the immeasurable harm opioids have caused our communities.’
Several counties have even launched a new, unprecedented method to curtail the scale of the crisis – charging drug dealers with murder.
Since entering office in 2019, Gov Newsom has overseen an investment of over $1 billion to crack down on the trafficking of opioids, including fentanyl, and expanding access to treatment programs for people with opioid use disorder.
Among those efforts is a plan to work with CalRx, which will be given $30 million to boost distribution of naloxone overdose reversal kits, which involve a nasal spray that binds to opioid receptors in the brain, displacing the opioids present and blocking their effects.
The spray, commonly known by its brand name Narcan, rapidly reverses an overdose-induced respiratory distress, restoring breathing. Using the spray is not the end-all-be-all, though. It’s meant to curtail the most acute effects and give the person enough time to call an ambulance and get help from medical professionals.
The problem is far from being confined to California, and the Drug Enforcement Administration continues to seize thousands of pounds of the drug every year.
In the past year, federal officials confiscated close to 80 million counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, as reported by the DEA.
In 2024 alone, the DEA has intercepted more than 19.8 million pills containing fentanyl and over 1,215 pounds of the drug in powdered form.
