A new, extremely dangerous drug is gaining particular popularity in the United States. The artificial opioid – fentanyl – is significantly superior to other psychoactive substances in the intensity of its action and the strength of addiction it causes. According to Republican politicians, the People’s Republic of China is particularly interested in its widespread consumption in the USA.
On Tuesday, April 17, the United States Congress Committee officially stated that the authorities of the People’s Republic of China have a hand in the spread of opioids. Investigators working for this body reached the Beijing government portal through which Chinese producers producing the so-called fentanyl precursors can apply for tax exemptions – provided they sell the substances outside China – the Głos America portal reported.
Former Attorney General William Barr, testifying before the committee, said the information contained compelling evidence of precursor subsidies. In November, Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping decided to resume bilateral cooperation to limit the trade in drugs and substances necessary for their production.
The committee chairman, Republican Mike Gallagher, said the actions of the Chinese Communist Party prove that “Beijing wants more fentanyl coming into our country; “I want the epidemic to spread chaos and destruction.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington said in a comment to Reuters that “there is no fentanyl problem in China, the fentanyl crisis in the United States is not caused by the Chinese side, and blindly blaming China cannot solve the U.S. problem.”
In the U.S., most drug overdose deaths involve fentanyl, which is also often laced with other drugs. Fentanyl is a very strong anesthetic – according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it anesthetics one hundred times more strongly than morphine, and is addictive many times faster than heroin. Even a 2.5-milligram pinch of the pure substance is a lethal dose
(PAP)/ed. FA