Declare Illegal Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Declare Illegal Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Started
June 29, 2020
Signatures: 83,097Next Goal: 150,000
66 people signed this week

Why this petition matters

Started by Families Against Fentanyl

The U.S. Government is considering designation of illegal fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). This would enable the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Department of Defense and other relevant federal agencies to better coordinate their efforts and immediately publish the necessary administrative directives to eliminate the threat posed by these deadly substances.

Federal Statute (18 U.S. Code§ 2332a) states that "any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxin or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors" would be defined as a WMD. Illegal fentanyl and its analogues, especially carfentanil, are such toxins, capable of causing mass deaths or biological impairment.

Illegally imported fentanyl seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in 2021 totaled more than 11,000 lbs., which is more than 2.5 billion lethal doses and enough to kill seven times the population of the United States. According to a study by the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, seizures of fentanyl-laced pills in the United States increased by 834% between January 2018 and December 2021. Illicit fentanyl is currently being laced into fake Xanax®, Percocet®, Oxycontin®, Adderall® and Vicodin® pills, according to the DEA. In just two months, the DEA seized 1.8 million fentanyl-laced fake pills which is enough to kill more than 700,000 people. In that same period, the DEA seized over 1,500 pounds of fentanyl powder: enough to make tens of millions of lethal pills. Fentanyl is the number one cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45, according to our analysis of CDC data. Fentanyl deaths doubled in just two years, and tripled among teens in that same period.

The following list compares lethal doses of fentanyl and its more powerful analogue, carfentanil, with the highest-class nerve agent Sarin, which is currently designated as a WMD:

AGENT                158 lb. Person Deadly Dose
Carfentanil          .02 mg 
Sarin                   .50 mg 
Fentanyl              2 mg 

We urge all relevant federal agencies to aggressively confront this threat by naming illegal fentanyl and its analogues Weapons of Mass Destruction.

James Rauh
Families Against Fentanyl

SOURCES REFERENCED:

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/drug-seizure-statistics

https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2021/09/30/dea-seizes-historic-amounts-deadly-fentanyl-laced-fake-pills-public

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/2021-population-estimates.html

https://nyunews.com/news/2022/04/20/study-finds-fentanyl-seizures-increasing/

https://gandaracenter.org/?s=carfentanil

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/law/crime-and-law-enforcement/sarin-gas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fentanyl

66 people signed this week
Signatures: 83,097Next Goal: 150,000
66 people signed this week
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