From the AP:
Unlike heroin and cocaine, which are produced from plants, fentanyl is made with ingredients used for legal pharmaceutical drugs, and can be made in cheap labs that can be erected relatively quickly. And despite the dangers, demand in the U.S. for the highly addictive drug remains strong.
Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said he was skeptical that Mexico’s extra troops at the border on their own would make much of a dent in trafficking.
Once fentanyl leaves the labs, it’s usually well concealed in hidden compartments of vehicles or in huge cargo trucks; better detection technology is crucial, in addition to more troops, he said. The other challenge, Vigil said, is that combating the fentanyl trade will likely require more than just collaboration between the U.S. and its neighbors.
“Even if Mexico, Canada and these other countries snap their fingers and did away with the drug trade, as long as we have that demand, there will be another country that will satisfy that demand.
Unlike heroin and cocaine, which are produced from plants, fentanyl is made with ingredients used for legal pharmaceutical drugs, and can be made in cheap labs that can be erected relatively quickly. And despite the dangers, demand in the U.S. for the highly addictive drug remains strong.
Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said he was skeptical that Mexico’s extra troops at the border on their own would make much of a dent in trafficking.
Once fentanyl leaves the labs, it’s usually well concealed in hidden compartments of vehicles or in huge cargo trucks; better detection technology is crucial, in addition to more troops, he said. The other challenge, Vigil said, is that combating the fentanyl trade will likely require more than just collaboration between the U.S. and its neighbors.
“Even if Mexico, Canada and these other countries snap their fingers and did away with the drug trade, as long as we have that demand, there will be another country that will satisfy that demand.
