KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Last year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized 7 million lethal doses of fentanyl in Tennessee.
“It’s a tragic and unfortunate number,” said DEA special agent Jeffrey Scott. “On the one hand, it speaks to the work that we’re doing. On the other hand, it speaks to the amount of fentanyl that’s actually washed across the United States right now.”
The number is alarming but not surprising, according to Scott. “The prevalence of these pills is one of the things we want to talk about, plus the high likelihood of a fatality if you take one,” he said.
Illicit fentanyl is different from pharmaceutical fentanyl prescribed to long-term pain patients. The street drug is far more potent and deadly.