By Nick Baum
MONDAY – 4/1/19
China’s current administration will add Fentanyl to its list of controlled drugs on May 1, in a move of limiting the production of the world’s most powerful opioid. The move was first declared by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting with US President Donald Trump, who responded with praise for the decision.
Trump had always been a critic of fentanyl, so the crackdown in its manufacturing can be perceived as a win for his administration. “This could be a game changer on what is considered to be the worst and most dangerous, addictive and deadly substance of them all,” Trump posted on Twitter at the time.
Recent studies have shown that fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. The CDC reported that fentanyl was used in every 1 in 4 overdose deaths in 2018. The overall Chinese plan for the crackdown is to overall close loopholes as well as change its chemical structure.
Sources and Pictures: CNN, Wikipedia, Twitter, WVUA 23
