NORFOLK, Va. — The Washington Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it's recovered an alarming amount of fentanyl in 2022, so much that it would've killed 54% of people in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Last year, 8.3 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl were collected.
Special Agent in Charge, Jarod Forget said about half of that was found here in Virginia.
"We seized 113,000 fake pills containing a deadly amount of fentanyl and 120 pounds of fentanyl powder and that equates to about 4 million doses of fentanyl," Forget said.
The DEA said a little bit of the drug goes a long way. The man-made drug is so deadly that it takes just 2 milligrams to kill.
Forget estimates that the collection of fentanyl found in Virginia could've killed 47 percent of the state's population.
According to the DEA, the major problem of distribution comes from an online transaction where victims think they're purchasing a prescription drug like oxycodone or Adderall.
"Unfortunately, a lot of young people are unknowingly being duped to purchase fake pills online. They think they're getting one type of drug but instead they're getting a fake kind of pill made of fentanyl and it's killing a lot of people.
Forget says parents should keep the conversation going with their kids.
The DEA has offered some help. In 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration launched the One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign.
