President Trump signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD).

The details:

The order designates illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemical as WMDs. It calls for additional penalties, investigations, and resources in response to the threat of fentanyl, treating it like a bioweapon.
The order cites the lethality of the drug and claims that fentanyl is “closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic.” It says fentanyl could potentially be weaponized for “concentrated, large-scale terror attacks by organized adversaries” and claims transnational criminal groups the administration has designated as foreign terrorist organizations use the sale of fentanyl to fund activities that undermine U.S. national security.

But: Drug policy experts say those claims lack evidence and that the declaration is more about optics than real action.

Fentanyl has not been weaponized by a military, police force, or terrorist group at any point in the last decade. There is only one documented instance of fentanyl being used as a bioweapon (in Russia in 2002).
There is no doubt that fentanyl has caused many deaths, but experts say this move plays into the fear and hurt experienced by families impacted by addiction, without providing a real solution to the problem.

Reminder: Classifying a narcotic as a WMD is nearly unprecedented, but there has been public debate about characterizing fentanyl that way before. The Biden administration faced pressure from state attorneys general to do so, and Rep. Boebert has previously introduced legislation to do so.

The bigger picture: The designation comes amid rising speculation that the U.S. will carry out land strikes against alleged drug trafficking targets in Venezuela, though Venezuela does not traffic much fentanyl. Declaring fentanyl a WMD would give the U.S. additional legal justification to use military force against Venezuela, or against Colombian and Mexican drug cartels.