News

Aug 29, 2024

What you need to know: Since January, California's state fentanyl task force has seized nearly 2.5 tons of fentanyl powder and over 8.8 million pills at California's ports of entry - enough to kill one in every four California residents.

SACRAMENTO - Continuing California's aggressive push to tackle the illicit fentanyl crisis, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the California National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force seized almost 4,638 pounds of fentanyl powder and more than 8.8 million pills containing fentanyl since January 2024. These seizures are valued at nearly $40 million.

The task force helps local and federal partners take deadly fentanyl off the street, focusing on ports of entry along the southern border.

"California's work to address illicit fentanyl entering into our state continues to produce strong results. We'll continue to address the opioid epidemic by all means necessary - including by getting fentanyl off our streets and providing communities with access to the treatment and life-saving medications they need."

Governor Gavin Newsom

The task force focuses on gathering information to interdict illegal narcotics trafficking, utilizing air and ground assets to build criminal investigations, and supporting personnel at border ports of entry to stop illicit narcotics trafficking. CalGuard members with the Counter Drug Taskforce are embedded in cross-government initiatives to combat transnational criminal organizations and the trafficking of illegal narcotics - like fentanyl.

How we got here
In June, Governor Newsom doubled down on the deployment of CalGuard involved in the task force by increasing the number of service members interdicting fentanyl and other drugs at U.S. ports of entry from 155 to nearly 400. Last year, the Governor increased the number of CalGuard service members deployed to interdict drugs at U.S. ports of entry along the border by approximately 50%.

The operations CalGuard supported resulted in the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in 2023 - a 1066% increase since 2021. CalGuard's coordinated drug interdiction efforts in the state are funded in part by California's $30 million investment to expand CalGuard's work to prevent drug trafficking by transnational criminal organizations. Fentanyl is primarily smuggled into the country by U.S. citizens through ports of entry. This adds to the Governor's efforts to address fentanyl within California, including by cracking down on fentanyl in communities across the state, including San Francisco.

Addressing the opioid crisis
California is taking aggressive action to end the fentanyl and opioid crisis. The Governor's Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis provides a comprehensive framework to deepen the impact of these investments, including aggressive steps to support overdose prevention efforts, hold the opioid pharmaceutical industry accountable, crack down on drug trafficking, and raise awareness about the dangers of opioids, including fentanyl.

The state launched opioids.ca.gov, a one-stop tool for Californians seeking resources for prevention and treatment, as well as information on how California is working to hold Big Pharma and drug traffickers accountable in this crisis.

This week, California launched the Facts Fight Fentanyl campaign to educate Californians on the dangers of fentanyl and how to prevent overdoses and deaths. This effort will provide critical information about fentanyl and life-saving tools such as naloxone.

As part of Governor Newsom's Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, over-the-counter CalRx®-branded naloxone is now becoming available across the state. Through the Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP), CalRx®-branded over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone HCL nasal spray, 4 mg, will be available for free to eligible organizations through the state or for sale for $24 per twin-pack through Amneal.

In support of President Biden's bilateral cooperation agreement with China on counternarcotics, the Governor spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October about combating the transnational shipping of precursor chemicals used to create fentanyl.

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