Attorney General Announces Fentanyl Crackdown in 10 Areas

Federal prosecutors in 10 areas especially hard hit by fentanyl overdose deaths will bring drug charges against anyone suspected of dealing the drug, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced.

Each of the designated areas in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maine, California, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire will receive an additional prosecutor, The Washington Post reports.

In a speech in Concord, New Hampshire, Sessions said, “I am ordering our prosecutors in 10 districts with some of the highest overdose death rates — including this one — to systematically and relentlessly prosecute every synthetic opioid case. We are going to arrest, prosecute and convict fentanyl dealers and we are going to put them in jail.”

He added, “When it comes to synthetic opioids, there is no such thing as a small case. Three milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. That’s equivalent to a pinch of salt. It’s not even enough to cover up Lincoln’s face on a penny. Depending on the purity, you could fit more than 1,000 fatal doses of fentanyl in a teaspoon.”