It Isn't Even July and There's Already Been More Lethal Fentanyl Seized at the Border Than All of Last Year
As if the border crisis was not already evident on several fronts, the federal government has already beat out last year’s numbers for the amount of lethal fentanyl seized at the southern border compared to the last fiscal year.
7,450 pounds of the substance has been seized since October 2020, the beginning of the 2021 fiscal year.
By contrast, 4,500 pounds of lethal fentanyl was found at the United States-Mexico border in the 2020 fiscal year, Customs and Border Patrol data revealed.
For skeptics who think this has to do with the coronavirus pandemic slowing down drug trafficking in 2020, think again.
The 2019 fiscal year saw 2,801 pounds of fentanyl seized, and 2018 only had 2,283 pounds taken by CBP.
CBP told CNN last month that the reason for these higher than usual numbers has to do with the border supposedly being closed off only to essential travel.
“With border travel restrictions remaining in place, and traffic volumes (until recently) being down versus prior years, officers have been able to focus efforts more on enforcement activities in both the commercial and passenger environments,” an agency spokesperson told the outlet.
“As cross border travel shifted to essential travel only, criminal organizations shifted their operations as well,” they added.
Biden’s open borders agenda is fueling the opioid crisis, with deadly consequences.pic.twitter.com/x8ArTsl9te
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) June 26, 2021
Especially with the significant increase in migrants arriving at the southern border in recent months, this spike is deeply concerning.
It is important to keep in mind that 7,450 pounds is only the amount they have seized and are aware of, meaning there is likely a far greater amount being trafficked successfully into the United States.
Shane Watson, a public information officer at NotMyKid.org, explained that the southern border contributes to the United States’ crippling opioid crisis.
“We already had an opioid crisis in the United States and to meet that increased demand, not only from the existing opioid crisis, but from the spike that we’ve seen in use since the pandemic started, cartels south of the border are realizing that there’s money to be made in this,” Watson told The Center Square.
“The lethal dose of heroin for an average sized adult male is 30 milligrams and the lethal dose of fentanyl for an average sized adult male is two to three milligrams,” he added. “It’s not only stronger than heroin, but it’s 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.”
The Biden Border Crisis is spiraling out of control and the American people aren’t laughing. During the month of May, @CBP intercepted more than 900 pounds of fentanyl. We must stop the flow of these deadly drugs into our communities. pic.twitter.com/Eu01owMAoU
— John Joyce (@RepJohnJoyce) June 28, 2021
Opioid overdoses have established themselves as a silent killer in the United States, with the epidemic killing nearly 50,000 Americans in 2019 alone, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Leftists might like to view things such as drug enforcement to crack down on cartels as unnecessary and even oppressive, but American lives truly depend on it.
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