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Law enforcement officials in the United States reaffirmed the Trump administration Thursday that synthetic opioids produced in China are fueling an opioid epidemic in the United States that is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people each year.
At the same time, however, they took the trouble to distance themselves from some of the heated debate on the issue and expressed cautious optimism about the collaboration between the US and Chinese drug control agencies to help counter the crisis. .
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times more potent than heroin, is "shipped to the United States by mail or express mail from China," said Paul Knierim of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). . sub-committees of foreign affairs representatives.
Trump blames China's fentanyl overdose epidemic
Knierim, deputy chief of operations at the Bureau of Global Enforcement at the DEA, cited the influx of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl from China and Mexico as the main reason for the increase in opioid overdoses.
Overdoses in the United States attributable to fentanyl more than doubled between 2015 and 2016, reaching nearly 19,500 deaths, compared to an overall 21% increase in overdoses over the same period, according to statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers. for Control and prevention of diseases.
Last year, the drug killed about 29,500 people in the United States, nearly double the number of people who died from a heroin overdose.
Knierim's statements come as Washington lawmakers seek new legislation that would strengthen control controls over international parcels arriving in the US to counter the influx of controlled substances and materials considered a security threat national.
The 2018 Prevention of Synthetic Surgeries and Overdoses Act (STOP Act), which was passed by the Senate on June 14 and is awaiting Senate approval, would require parcels arriving by the US Postal Service The Act also provides for the United States to provide technology to foreign entities to strengthen their outbound mail filtering processes.
But government witnesses at Thursday's hearing also found a less confrontational tone than the high-level remarks made between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks, led by a statement made by US President Donald Trump on Twitter.
"It is outrageous that the toxic synthetic heroin Fentanyl enters the US postal system from China," Trump tweeted on Aug. 20, before calling on the Senate to approve the STOP Act as soon as possible.
It is outrageous that Fentanyl, toxic synthetic heroin, is dumped into the US postal system from China. We can, and must, END THIS NOW! The Senate should adopt the STOP ACT – and firmly stop this poison from killing our children and destroying our country. No more delay!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2018
These comments were rejected by high-ranking votes in the Chinese National Commission for Drug Control (NNCC), with the committee member Yu Haibin calling them "totally unacceptable" and "irresponsible," according to CNN.
"The United States has no evidence that most of the fentanyl in the country comes from China," CN quoted Yu as saying. "It is very irresponsible to draw such a conclusion on the basis of some individual cases."
At Thursday's hearing, government witnesses attempted to highlight the fruitful collaboration between the governments of both countries and minimize conflictual dialogue.
There is "a lot of red dots" in the rhetoric between the two governments, Kirsten Madison of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), acknowledged.
"But as long as we get the cooperation we need [China]it's the most important thing, "said Madison, deputy secretary of INL, an agency of the State Department.
Madison added that the Chinese authorities were working with their US counterparts on real-time law enforcement, advancing electronic data systems in shipping and controlling more substances.
On August 29, the Chinese NNCC announced the inclusion of 32 new psychotic substances in the country's list of controlled substances, bringing the total to 175.
Also proposing efforts to reduce the tone of confrontation, the title of Thursday's hearing was changed in the days leading up to the "Fentanyl Fighting: Keeping China Responsible" event, "Tackling Fentanyl: The China Connection" .
In June, Liu Yuejin, deputy head of the NNCC, said the US domestic market, rather than Chinese suppliers, was at the heart of the opioid crisis, while underlining his agency's commitment to work together to smother the chain. transcontinental logistics.
Despite these efforts, and despite the inclusion of fentanyl on China's controlled substances list, drug suppliers can still be easily located.
"Our fentanyl is very pure": deadly opioid for UK users via Chinese websites
An online search on China-based fentanyl suppliers on Thursday found a number of suppliers apparently able to export synthetic opioids abroad.
A company called China YSC Biotechnology, based in the Chinese city of Wuhan, claims to offer Fentanyl, a fentanyl derivative with a purity of 99.8%, as well as many other drugs such as MDMA and oxycodone.
Offering the product for "research" purposes, the company claims to be able to produce up to 500 kilograms of synthetic opioids a month and ship internationally through multiple operators such as FedEx, EMS and UPS.
A representative of the company did not respond to messages sent to a WhatsApp number listed on his site.
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