Prevalence of the deadly drug fentanyl is on the rise in the United States. The Department of Justice announced on Sept. 30 that law enforcement officials seized over 1.8 million counterfeit prescription drugs containing fentanyl and over 1,543 pounds of fentanyl powder. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) pointed out that most drugs disguised as prescription drugs in the United States are produced in Mexico, and the components used to make fentanyl come from China. More than 93,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2020, 30 percent more than in 2019 and the highest number of drug overdose deaths ever recorded in the United States, Lisa O. Monaco, deputy attorney general of the Justice Department, said in a Sept. 30 speech. Opioids are responsible for 75 percent of these deaths, with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, being the leading cause of death. “Counterfeit pills have been identified in every state in …