In June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized approximately 2,100 pounds of illicit fentanyl at the U.S. southern border, according to the agency’s latest report. The amount is enough to kill every American and then some.
One kilogram (2.2 pounds) of fentanyl can potentially kill 500,000 people, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“I don’t think the public is really aware of what a challenge this is,” said Dr. Donna Nelson, an organic chemist and professor at the University of Oklahoma.
“You have to assume that the border agents are not catching everything that’s coming into our country,” she told The Epoch Times.
“And the amount that’s coming in keeps increasing—not steadily, but it is increasing over time.”
Ms. Nelson was also the science adviser for the show, “Breaking Bad,” and the 2016 president of the American Chemical Society. She was also pivotal in showing how the chemical structure in “bath salts,” “spice,” and related designer drugs impact a person in a similar manner as illegal drugs.
Read more: Enough Fentanyl Crosses the US Border Each Month to Kill Every American
