The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on senior members of the armed wing of a Mexican drug cartel that operates on border territories in and around Chihuahua, Mexico.

Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Top executives at a California telemedicine company were arrested for allegedly distributing Adderall online and conspiring to commit health care fraud through reimbursements for the medication.

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.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee says she has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is undergoing treatment.

The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy.

Three men were arrested in connection to a drug distribution operation in Jacksonville Beach, a popular area for people to come and party, especially during spring break.

U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey will join the Special Agents in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI at a presser to provide information about a significant law enforcement operation in San Francisco.

Federal prosecutors say a leader of a Japan-based crime syndicate conspired to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar in the belief that Iran would use it for nuclear weapons.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has announced she'll seek reelection to Congress in 2024.

Dozens of people went to dispose of their expired and unused medications at the local HCA Memorial hospitals “Drug Take Back Day” event Saturday.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced a new government-wide strategy that will target not only fentanyl but precursor materials used to make the synthetic opioid.

The Biden administration is taking aim at the fentanyl trafficking threat, announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against Chinese companies and executives blamed for importing the chemicals used to make the deadly drug.

Washington’s revolving door kept spinning this week as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s recently departed second-in-command returned for another stint with a high-powered consulting firm where he previously advised OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

When it emerged this week that U.S. health regulators are suggesting that the federal government loosen restrictions on marijuana, the news lit up the world of weed.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders are hailing it as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.

Fentanyl is the most common cause of fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. and Jacksonville is not immune.

China is insisting it is up to the U.S. to “create necessary conditions” for anti-drugs cooperation, following complaints from Washington that Beijing is ignoring its calls for a crackdown on precursor chemicals for the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl.

The United States has sanctioned a son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, three members of the Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. Tuesday's sanctions came the day Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador talked with President Joe Biden about immigration and the fentanyl crisis.

Several Floridians were arrested and indicted in a year-long drug trafficking investigation called “Operation Ice Man,” according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.

The Justice Department has charged 28 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in a sprawling fentanyl-trafficking investigation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a warning about an increase in fentanyl mixed with xylazine being trafficked in 48 out of 50 states.

The I-TEAM has been digging into the allegations against a former Nassau County Sergeant, who was also a DEA task force officer, and found possible ties to another drug investigation resulting in the arrest of a longtime Florida Highway Patrol trooper.

Two alarming studies show more deadly drug overdoses are claiming the lives of young children. In some situations, the victims can be as young as infants.

The Biden administration is moving to require patients see a doctor in person before getting drugs to treat attention deficit disorders or addictive painkillers, toughening access amid a deepening opioid crisis.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced this week that it seized more than 379 million doses of fentanyl in the year 2022 — enough to kill the entire population of the U.S. and Canada.

Federal officials say an increasing number of fake prescription pills containing potentially deadly fentanyl are helping drive overdose death rates to record levels in the U.S. And officials warn that some of the pills are being manufactured in rainbow colors designed to look like candy.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a nationwide warning over what it’s referring to as “rainbow fentanyl,” which as the name implies, is brightly colored and appears to resemble hard candy.

Recent mass overdoses in Florida have the Drug Enforcement Administration sounding the alarm.

A fairly new drug is finding its way into the U.S., and law enforcement personnel say it’s 20 times more potent than fentanyl.

The number of people dying as a result of an overdose is growing.

According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control, roughly 50,000 people died from an opioid-involved death in 2019.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and the Drug Enforcement Administration announced an effort to cut down on prescription drug abuse.

On the heels of a nationwide warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration about fentanyl-related mass-overdose deaths, News4JAX has learend that police in Southern California seized more than 20 pounds of the drug during a bust in Santa Ana.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a warning about a nationwide increase in “mass-overdose events” specifically related to the drug fentanyl.

Columbia County deputies on Tuesday assisted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration with an operation in the community, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

Since the "One Pill Can Kill" campaign began, federal agents who gather intel on drug distribution have been working behind the scenes to decode emojis found in both social media and text communications between drug dealers and young people.

Authorities say a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed when a passenger opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona.

COVID-19 infections aren’t the only things parents have to worry about now that kids are back in school for a new school year.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent arrested on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is accused of posing for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the building while off duty.

A retired high-ranking official with the Drug Enforcement Administration has testified that three large opioid distributors had a “systematic failure” in monitoring suspicious pill orders.

When people think of the Drug Enforcement Administration, they may envision undercover federal agents infiltrating major drug operations. They may also conjure up mental images of heavily armed federal law enforcement officers raiding a drug house in the United States or arresting a drug warlord abroad. But most people may not realize that behind the scenes, there is a scientific component of the DEA that is also on the frontlines when it comes to the war on drugs.

The suspect arrested Wednesday after federal agents said they found 46 pounds of hydroponic marijuana at the Jacksonville Amtrak Station has been identified.

Federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration Jacksonville District Office on Wednesday seized 46 pounds of hydroponic marijuana that were smuggled into Jacksonville on an Amtrak train from New York.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing a warning for parents to closely monitor their children’s social media activity.

When the Drug Enforcement Administration suspected there was some marijuana in luggage on a flight arriving at Jacksonville International Airport, they called on Nassau County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Xena to help.

Where to drop-off your old, unused prescriptions on National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 24.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has now launched Operation Engage. DEA’s Miami Field Division Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jonathon White says Operation Engage will focus on preventing opioid overdoses. “So, Operation Engage, the timing couldn’t be more critical.”DEA Special Agent Amy Roderick is currently coordinating Operation Engage. Operation Engage started in South Florida and will eventually make its way to the northeastern part of the state. And just days after the DEA rolled out Operation Engage, DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans on Tuesday announced the release of the 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday warned that scammers are pretending to be DEA agents in an attempt to steal money and personal information. The DEA released audio of a phone conversation between a scammer impersonating a DEA agent and a man. But the scammer learned during the call that an actual DEA agent was listening to the conversation. “Sir, this is the DEA,” a DEA special agent says. “They’re using trunk numbers or numbers disguised as other locations when they’re making these phone calls,” Dubet explained.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mexican Navy helped the Drug Enforcement Administration seize 2.5 tons of meth and 100,000 fentanyl pills that were on the way to the United States. “Let’s say if 10% of that went to Atlanta, which would be about 500 pounds, and then you take 1% of that shipment coming to Jacksonville, it’s 50 pounds of meth,” Dubet said. “Fifty pounds of meth to the Jacksonville area would supply not only Jacksonville but the surrounding counties for several weeks.”AdThat meth and fentanyl could lead to potentially fatal overdoses. “Whenever you have large amounts of money and people fighting for territory, that’s where the violence comes out,” Dubet said. If convicted, the two Mexican nationals face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in U.S. federal prison.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While the Drug Enforcement Administration continues to aggressively go after drug cartels that smuggle hardcore narcotics such as meth, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl into the US, the administration is also keeping its eye on an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. According to the DEA, nearly 70% of drug overdose deaths in the US involve prescription medicine. Most of those overdoses were the result of a drug addict having easy access to medications that were not prescribed. Something like that so when you’re not home, those items would prevent burglars from taking these medications,” Dubet said. For more information about DEA drug disposal locations:Diversion Control DivisionFor more information about properly disposing medications:Environmental Protection Agency steps for disposing medicines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City Councilwoman Joyce Morgan held a community town hall Monday night to get the public’s input on violence in Arlington. Police said the man, whose family identified as Wilson, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Arlington residents who logged on to the Zoom meeting spoke about the recent crime. “This community, as you know, Arlington, is really in mourning,” Morgan said. “One of the things that the entire Arlington community talks about is the lack of action," said Steve Murray, a resident.

NEW YORK – Walmart is suing the U.S. government in a pre-emptive strike in the battle over its responsibility in the opioid abuse crisis. Walmart says it is seeking a declaration from a federal judge that the government has no lawful basis for seeking civil damages from the company. The lawsuit names the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr as defendants. Brown went into private practice in the Dallas areaA spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Texas that handled the investigation referred questions to the Justice Department in Washington. The Justice Department declined to comment.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two weeks after Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy Shea visited Florida and spent time talking with Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams about violent crime in the city, the DEA has announced the launch of Project Safeguard. It’s a violent crime reduction initiative that allows the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and federal marshals to partner with local police to go after violent offenders -- especially since the DEA says many of the violent crimes in Jacksonville are linked to illegal narcotics trafficking. Police in 41 cities throughout Florida are taking part in Project Safeguard. Only time will tell if the initiative reduces violent crime throughout the state. Project Safeguard is being deployed in other areas of the country such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

WASHINGTON – More than 1,500 people have been arrested on state and federal criminal charges in the last three months as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration project focusing on violent crime, the agency’s acting administrator told The Associated Press. Such operations are common for the federal government, but the issue of law-and-order is a major component of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. The DEA -- under the umbrella of the Department of Justice -- is responsible for investigating major drug cases and international drug smuggling, along with drug gangs who are often responsible for upticks in violence within communities. “By going after the violent crime, we’ve been able to investigate the larger regional groups,” Shea said. “Plus, we’re addressing the violent crime problem in these localities.”

While at the Drug Enforcement Administrations Training Academy, Brown said he was once pepper-sprayed three times in a single training exercise while other trainees were sprayed once. When both responded, the white instructor clarified, “I meant the monkey.”That behavior, as alleged in an internal complaint, didn’t stop there. The instructor also was accused of going on the loudspeaker in the tower of the outdoor firing range to taunt black trainees by making “monkey noises.”“We were like, ‘It’s 2019. That shouldn’t even be a thing that we’re dealing with,’” said Derek Moise, who did not hear the noises himself but recalled the discomfort they caused his fellow Black trainees who did. The recruits who originally accused Mortenson are still employed by the DEA and not permitted to speak publicly about the incidents.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A police officer was shot Monday morning while assisting the Drug Enforcement Administration in serving a high-risk search warrant in a neighborhood off Moncrief Road, authorities said. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team member was released from the hospital within hours and is recovering at home, Sheriff Mike Williams said. Williams said the veteran officer was hit several times, but the shots landed on his ballistics vest, and the officer managed to return fire. “When you ask for the SWAT team, you’re talking about a high-profile takedown," Jefferson said. The sheriff said SWAT officers spend 20-30% of their on-duty time training to prepare them for high-risk situations.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning Wednesday about scammers who are impersonating DEA agents to steal other peoples money and personal information. Mike Dubet, DEA assistant special agent in charge in Jacksonville, says agents will never call to tell someone theyre under investigation. We would go in person, identify ourselves as a DEA agent and then have a conversation with that person.Dubet said that two weeks ago, a scammer called his cellphone pretending to be a DEA agent and told him:The DEA was looking for me. There was a warrant for my arrest and I needed to call back a number, Dubet said. At DEA headquarters in South Florida, Ann-Judith Lambert is the DEA public information officer for all of Florida.

Rader was the 11th member of the drug distribution ring to be convicted and sentenced in federal court. After the prescription drugs left the pharmacy, according to investigators, they were then sold on the streets of both Duval and Nassau counties. Full Screen 1 / 5 Pharmacy surveillanceNassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said when they joined “Operation Bad Employee,” they learned that one of the recruiters for the drug distribution operation lived and operated out of Nassau County. Leeper went on to say “Operation Bad Employee” may have put a dent in the ongoing opioid problem in Nassau County. Although “Operation Bad Employee” began in 2016, it is still an ongoing investigation, which means there could be more arrests.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Guns, drugs and stolen property were all seized in a federal raid this week on Jacksonville’s Westside. The raid was part of a six-month sting that Drug Enforcement Administration agents dubbed “Operation Python,” in which millions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs have been taken off the streets. At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, DEA agents served a search warrant at the Westside home. Full Screen 1 / 13 Operation PythonTuesday’s raid was part of the national DEA investigation called Operation Python. Though Operation Python officially ended Wednesday afternoon, Dubet told News4Jax that he believes Miller’s arrest will lead to identifying more suspects locally.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For the 18th annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to be held on Saturday, vaping devices and cartridges were added to the items that may be dropped off for safe disposal. By doing so, they will help prevent prescription drug abuse and theft. For the first time, DEA will accept vaping devices and cartridges at any of its drop off locations, although the DEA cannot accept devices containing lithium ion batteries. Concerns have been raised across the United States over illnesses and deaths caused by vaping and the high youth vaping initiation rates. For more information about the harmful effects of youth vaping visit: justthinktwice.gov/facts/vaping-what-you-should-know.

Tyler Skaggs #45 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim delivers a pitch in the first inning during a MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on June 18, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (CNN) - A top public relations official with the Los Angeles Angels provided oxycodone to Tyler Skaggs, and abused the drug with him before the pitcher died earlier this year, the employee's attorney told CNN on Saturday. ESPN reported that Eric Kay, the Angels' director of communications, also gave the DEA the names of five other players who he believed were using opiates while with the Angels team. "The Angels maintain a strict, zero tolerance policy regarding the illicit use of drugs for both players and staff," he said. Skaggs family attorney Rusty Hardin said the family appreciates the work that law enforcement is doing.

These warning letters come just months after the FDA issued a similar series of warnings to other opioid-selling website operators. The online networks that received the new warning letters, sent earlier this month, are Divyata, Euphoria Healthcare Pvt Ltd., JCM Dropship and Meds4U. The letters call for the website operators to immediately stop illegally selling the opioids to consumers in the United States. We remain committed to using all available regulatory and enforcement tools to stop the illicit flow of opioids online." Warning letters were also sent to dozens of websites last year on two separate occasions.

WJLA via CNNCOLUMBUS, Ohio - One Ohio county had an "unusually high number" of overdose deaths in a little over a day, the county's coroner said. "As of about 10 am this morning we have had 10 people die of overdoses in about 26 hours," Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz said on Facebook Sunday. The last peak of overdoses that the coroner's office posted about was in August 12, when six people died in less than 24 hours. That same year, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a national alert that said "drug incidents and overdoses related to fentanyl are occurring at an alarming rate." In 2017, Franklin County set up a 3-year Opiate Action Plan to combat the opiate epidemic in the state.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Across Florida, Drug Enforcement Administration agents are carrying out drug stings, and the operation led agents to Jacksonville's Westside. At 10:38 a.m. Thursday, Jacksonville police and federal agents moved into position to conduct a raid at the home, which was targeted in Operation Cazador. Within minutes, 31-year-old Thomas Renckley was led out of the home in handcuffs. Just Prior to the raid, operation Cazador led to the seizure of 15-kilos of bricked heroin at an undisclosed location somewhere else in Jacksonville. "Thousands of people are saved because they didn't go to this heroin, possibly overdose on the heroin and die from it," Dubet said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating after cocaine was shipped to several stores in western Washington

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The drug Adderall is used by people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or ADHD, as well as people who have narcolepsy. Now, the Drug Enforcement Administration is warning people about counterfeit Adderall sold online. The warning comes after agents recently seized counterfeit Adderall pills that were destined for Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. DEA Special Agent Mike Dubet says counterfeit Adderall sold online is being laced with methamphetamines. Within the last year and a half, the DEA has closed in on six counterfeit Adderall operations nationwide.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – From local police to state troopers and federal agents, ending the opioid epidemic takes a lot of players. The top authority is the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is actively working to stop drugs at the border and to end both the supply and demand in Northeast Florida. A DEA agent told News4Jax that much of the heroin is coming from Colombia and the fentanyl from China. He said heroin laced with fentanyl is the most dangerous drug DEA agents deal with. The drugs are so toxic, agents investigating drug scenes now have to wear airtight hazmat suits -- two of them -- with an oxygen tank to help them breathe.