China Has Promised to Crack Down on Fentanyl. Here ’s What That Could Mean for Overdose Deaths in the U.S.

As part of a wide-ranging deal between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China has reportedly pledged to designate the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl and similar drugs as controlled substances, subjecting those who sell them to harsher punishments and potentially slowing their flow into the U.S. Last month, a Congressional commission said China — which it previously called the “largest source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-like substances in the United States” — was not doing enough to stop the drug and its related analogs from reaching U.S. borders. The Trump Administration has also made it a priority to crack down on the flow of fentanyl-like substances from China, which may enter the country either directly through the mail, or indirectly via cartels. The exact terms of the agreement, stemming from the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, are somewhat unclear. A statement from the White House said China would consider fentanyl a controlled substance, but the Associated Press reports that the country’s foreign ministry says that step occurred years ago, and the latest update would make chemically similar fentanyl analogs controlled substances. Meanwhile, CNBC reports that Chinese state media said only that the nation will work on controlling fentanyl, language that falls short of the White House statement. That confusion aside, one major question remains: whether the policy will even help curtail record-high drug overdose deaths...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized China healthytime onetime public health Source Type: news