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Congressional Research Service, Illicit Fentanyl and China's Role, Jan. 29, 2021

This short CRS report was written by Liana Rosen and Susan Lawrence.
January 29, 2021
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The Congressional Research Service is a non-partisan office of the Library of Congress. The full report is in pdf form at the link below.
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Addressing illicit fentanyl in the context of the ongoing opioid crisis is both a domestic and foreign policy issue for the 117th Congress. According to U.S. estimates, synthetic opioids, including predominantly foreign-sourced fentanyl and fentanyl-related compounds (analogues), killed more Americans in the past 12 months than any other type of opioid. In addressing the international dimensions of the problem, policymakers have faced challenges in stopping fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and emerging synthetic opioids from entering the United States. In recent years, counternarcotics attention has focused on reducing fentanyl flows from China.

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