Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Drug trafficking via the U.S. mail

A recent Senate report (which I haven't seen) has generated a lot of news coverage to the effect that fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance (i.e. a drug that may not be legally sold without a prescription in the U.S.) that is implicated in the current opioid crisis in the U.S., is widely available from internet sites that will send it to you in the mail.

Here's the WSJ story:

Stamp Out Easy Mail Access to Deadly Fentanyl, Senate Report Urges


"A U.S. Senate report raises fresh concerns about how easy it is to buy illicit, mail-order opioids from China, a source federal authorities say has fueled a nationwide addiction crisis claiming tens of thousands of lives.
The new Senate report, issued ahead of a hearing Thursday, is the latest to focus on how international mail has become a major conduit for these drugs.
Investigators for the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations posed as would-be online buyers, entering terms like “fentanyl for sale” into Google..."
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