By Brett Rowland | Colorado Springs Gazette
The illicit fentanyl coming from Mexican cartels is becoming more dangerous, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The purity level of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. drug market has increased and the amount of fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills has increased, making the nation’s top drug threat even more dangerous, according to the DEA’s most recent National Drug Threat Assessment.
A lethal dose of the potent opioid is about 2 milligrams, depending on the opioid tolerance of the user.
In 2022, the average fentanyl pill contained 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl, according to analysis by DEA forensic chemists who test random samples of the fentanyl seized in the U.S. Overall, the tested samples ranged from a low of .03 milligrams to a high of 9 milligrams.