A recent Drug Enforcement Administration report paints a grim picture of what is happening with dangerous drugs and guns on the streets and an increase in children ending up in the hospital.
A Jacksonville DEA assistant special agent in charge said recent data shows plant-based drugs like cocaine and heroin are taking a back seat to synthetic drugs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic opioids like fentanyl accounted for 70% of overdose deaths across the United States, and synthetic stimulants like methamphetamine accounted for 30% of overdose deaths.
“We’ve seen a significant switch from plant-based drugs to synthetic drugs,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Mike Dubet said.
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The Sinaloa cartel and the Cartel Jalisco New Generation, commonly known as CJNG are the two main manufacturers and suppliers of fentanyl and meth, according to the DEA.
Although both cartels are based in Mexico, a DEA threat assessment map shows both cartels have a strong network in the Sunshine State.
“They have street dealers that are not only standing on street corners selling drugs but also using social media platforms to stay a little more anonymous,” Dubet said. “These two cartels are responsible for their entire network; from producing the drugs to getting them into the hands of the users.”
A recent DEA report said fentanyl seizures have doubled in the past two years. More than 13,000 kilos of powdered fentanyl were seized last year along with 79 million fentanyl pills.
“Seizures in 2023 tripled from our seizures in 2021 of fentanyl pills or fake pills,” Dubet said.
Last year, 30% of fentanyl powder contained xylazine, a sedative that veterinarians use on animals. Drug dealers are mixing xylazine with fentanyl to create what’s known on the streets as tranq.
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Tranq gives users a greater high for less than the cost of pure fentanyl. According to a threat assessment map, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey lead all other states regarding xylazine seizures.
Dubet said it is “rare” for the DEA to make a drug arrest without guns being involved.
According to the latest threat assessment, there has been a 31% increase in people involved in the drug trade using firearms that have been later determined to be ghost guns that were made from a 3D printer, or kits purchased online.
The threat assessment also revealed that a preliminary ATF report shows a 180% increase in stolen semi-automatic firearms that have been converted into full-automatic weapons.
“Drug traffickers know they are playing a deadly game and they carry the most sophisticated and most powerful weapons to protect their enterprise,” Dubet said.
The threat assessment also revealed a nationwide increase in children being sent to the hospital after ingesting marijuana edibles that are marketed to look like candy, snacks, and cereal.
Although children are getting access to their parent’s medically prescribed THC marijuana edibles, they are also getting easy access to hemp-based edibles, a Florida Poison Control spokesperson said.
“They’re sold without a prescription. They’re not medical marijuana so you can buy them in a gas station, a smoke shop, or a convenience store. People don’t treat them like they treat dangerous medicine,” Michael McCormick said.
Nearly 800 children in Florida were sent to the emergency room after ingesting a marijuana edible in 2023. So far this year, 158 children under the age of 6 have ended up in the hospital after ingesting a marijuana edible.
Poison Control projected that number to be above 1,000 by the end of the year based on weekly and sometimes daily calls to the poison control center.
“We could be looking at more than two children a day potentially in the state of Florida this year,” McCormick said.
He said there have been cases where children bring marijuana edibles to school.
“We have had several schools and after-school programs across the state where we end up with multiple children. Sometimes they will transport the children and we get calls from multiple hospitals, and you wouldn’t even know it went back to one location.,” he said.
This is why parents who use marijuana are encouraged to store those edibles in a locked medicine box or bag, especially since edibles can affect children differently than adults.
Many of the younger children who are taken to the hospital after ingesting their parent’s marijuana edibles end up in the ICU.