Vice President Kamala Harris sounded the alarm Tuesday over fake pills that are laced with deadly fentanyl and killing young Americans, saying the U.S. must be “clear-eyed” and honest about the scourge that is devastating families.
Ms. Harris said parents used to be worried about their kids using weed or alcohol at parties.
“Now, what’s happening at these parties is people are passing around pills. These are pills that these kids may think are Adderall or Xanax and they are laced with fentanyl,” Ms. Harris said at a White House meeting with attorneys general from seven states and D.C.
“We must be clear and concise about the seriousness of this and we must be clear-eyed as a nation about what is happening,” she said.
Ms. Harris said fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is the leading cause of death among persons ages 18 to 42.
Mexican cartels used precursor chemicals from China to press fentanyl into counterfeit pills, which in turn kill unsuspecting users in the U.S.
“It is basically counterfeit. They are being marketed, these pills, as though they are some other type of drug but they are in fact laced with fentanyl. We are seeing a lot of that happen,” Ms. Harris said.
About 109,000 people died in the U.S. from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in February, according to the latest federal data.
Administration officials say while the toll remains far too high, the rate of overdoses flattened during 2022 and 2023 after steady increases from 2019 to 2021.
Officials say overdose deaths are driven by illicit synthetic drugs, namely fentanyl and methamphetamine, which are typically combined with drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Grieving families and advocates have pushed the Biden administration to be more vocal about fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. They say too many parents don’t know about the problem, as their children find ways to obtain pills online.
Ms. Harris highlighted a dual-track effort by the Biden administration to support states through funding for substance-abuse treatment to cut demand for illicit drugs, while agents dismantle criminal organizations on the supply side.
Officials are also worried about the rise in xylazine, or “tranq,” which is a non-opioid sedative that users sometimes mix with fentanyl to extend their feeling of euphoria when getting high.
Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, formally declared xylazine an “emerging threat” earlier this year, hoping to accelerate efforts to track the problem and develop therapies.
Joining Ms. Harris at the meeting were attorneys general Aaron Ford of Nevada, Kathy Jennings of Delaware, Michelle Henry of Pennsylvania, Letitia James of New York, Kris Mayes of Arizona, Ellen Rosenblum of Oregon, Brian Schwalb of the District of Columbia and Josh Stein of North Carolina.
All eight are Democrats.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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