California, the most populous state of the United States, seized 28,765 pounds (13,047.7 kg) of fentanyl in 2022, which is enough to “potentially kill” the entire population of North America twice, authorities announced Friday, APA reports citing Xinhua.

In a statement released by the governor’s office, California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted the comprehensive and historic fight toward ending the opioid epidemic in the state, saying the seized fentanyl had an estimated street value of more than 230 million U.S. dollars and the efforts saved potentially hundreds of millions of lives.

Compared to 2021, fentanyl seized by law enforcement with help from the California National Guard increased by 594 percent, according to the statement.

“The opioid crisis has touched every part of California, and our nation, this year. As we mourn the many lives lost, California is working harder than ever to fight this crisis and protect people from these dangerous drugs to ensure our communities are kept safe in the first place,” said Newsom.

Fentanyl is a very potent synthetic opioid used as a pain medication or for anesthesia together with other drugs. But it is also used illicitly as a recreational drug, sometimes mixed with heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines or methamphetamine, among others.

In the United States, federal officials said that most of the fentanyl is being produced in secret Mexican factories, and over the last year, the more deadly counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl skyrocketed in the country.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), authorities seized over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022, representing about 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl. And in Los Angeles alone, a major transshipment hub for fentanyl and other drugs, DEA confiscated 7 million fentanyl pills and more than 1,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022, accounting for about 10 percent of the drug seized across the country, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency