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Trump declares fentanyl a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ in new executive order
Trump declares fentanyl a 'weapon of mass destruction’ in dramatic escalation of US drug war
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order formally designating fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction”, classifying the synthetic opioid not only as a lethal narcotic but as a substance that could be treated as a potential chemical weapon under US law.
In a White House press release accompanying the order, the president underscored the drug's lethality and the scale of the public health crisis it has caused. “Illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses”, the statement said.
The executive order itself adopts sweeping language. “As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens. Accordingly, I hereby designate illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).”
The directive instructs the Pentagon and the Department of Justice to take additional measures to counter the production and distribution of fentanyl, reflecting what officials describe as an increasingly forceful approach to combating drug smuggling.
The White House said the designation “unleashes every tool to combat the cartels and foreign networks responsible for flooding communities with this deadly substance”, while warning that fentanyl could be weaponised for “concentrated, large-scale terror attacks by organized adversaries”.
It remains unclear what immediate policy changes will follow from the designation. Under existing US law, it is already a criminal offence to threaten or attempt to use weapons of mass destruction. The Department of Homeland Security has historically defined such weapons as “radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people”.
However, the administration's assertion that fentanyl could be deployed in “concentrated, large-scale terror attacks by organized adversaries” has drawn scepticism from some experts in drug policy and security studies.
Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who researches drugs, crime, terrorism and violence, questioned the premise, telling Stat News: “Neither terrorist organizations nor militaries are using fentanyl as a weapon. It is not obvious to me that this is a threat.”
(More to come…)
Source: LiveMint
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