By Claire Thornton | USA TODAY
President Joe Biden will meet with Mexican officials Mondayto discuss how to stop illicit drugs from coming through the southern border, a problem that continues to fuel a new wave of the deadly fentanyl crisis across the United States.
CONTEXT: There were107,622 drug overdose deaths in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and two-thirds of those deaths were caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
Most illicit fentanyl is mass-produced in “secret factories” in Mexico with chemicals obtained from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Fentanyl is highly addictive, 50 times more potent than heroin, and only a tiny amount – enough to rest on a pencil tip – can be fatal.