Sacramento–Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the California National Guard (CalGuard) supported counter-drug operations in 2023 that led to the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in California and the state’s ports of entry. Since 2021, fentanyl seizures supported by CalGuard have increased by 1066%.
“Fentanyl is a poison, and it does not belong in our communities. California is cracking down – increasing seizures, expanding access to substance abuse treatment, and holding drug traffickers accountable to combat the immeasurable harm opioids have caused our communities,” said Newsom.
Cracking down on illegal drugs being smuggled into California, Governor Newsom last year increased the number of CalGuard service members deployed to interdict drugs at U.S. ports of entry along the border by approximately 50%. CalGaurd’s coordinated drug interdiction efforts in the state are funded in part by California’s $30 million investment in 2022 to expand CalGuard’s work to prevent drug-trafficking transnational criminal organizations.
The amount of fentanyl seized in California in 2023 is enough to potentially kill the global population nearly twice over. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 mg.
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