November 2, 2018
By Bart Jansen
Washington – Prescription drugs (click here) including opioids were responsible for the most overdose deaths of any illicit drugs since 2001, according to a report the Drug Enforcement Administration released Friday.
In addition, heroin-related deaths nearly doubled from 2013 to 2016, a trend exacerbated by the mixing of heroin with fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, the report said. Drug traffickers are disguising opioids as counterfeit prescriptions, in a marketing strategy, the report said.
“This report underscores the scope and magnitude of the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States,” Acting DEA Administrator Uttam Dhillon said in a statement.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the report confirmed that transnational drug cartels and foreign drug labs working with street gangs are flooding communities with heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamines.
While the 164-page DEA report covered statistics mostly through 2016, preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overdose deaths began to decline last year, with opioid prescriptions falling significantly, he said....
