DEA Releases Updated Drugs of Abuse Resource Guide

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released its 2022 edition of Drugs of Abuse, A DEA Resource Guide. The biennial report is “designed to be a reliable resource on the most commonly used and misused drugs in the United States.” The DEA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly produced and published the report.

The updated version reviews the state of play in the government’s fight against illegal drugs. The 2022 digital edition updates the 2020 Drugs of Abuse publication with the “most current information on new and emerging trends in drug misuse and abuse, including fentanyl, marijuana and marijuana concentrates, vaping, stimulant drugs, and fake pills.”

For all the drugs mentioned, the DEA report discusses the drug’s origin, common street names, appearance, abuse methods, effects on the mind and body, overdose effects, and legal status.  

The report also takes a comprehensive view of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as well as the different schedule levels that drugs are classified as, the criminal penalties for various drug offenses, and the five classes of drugs that are regulated by the CSA.

Those five classes are narcotics (opioids), depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids.

The report highlights Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid which falls into the narcotics category. Fentanyl is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for use as an analgesic (pain reliever) and anesthetic. The report notes its “approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.”

Fentanyl, a driver of the opioid epidemic, is a focus of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. On January 13, House Energy and Commerce Republicans hosted a roundtable on the fentanyl crisis with a focus on illegal drug smuggling across the southern border. But members made clear that the issue reaches far beyond the border.

“A lot of people look at that on TV or in the media, and they think [fentanyl is] just a problem at the southern border. But it’s not. These drugs are infesting communities everywhere,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA).

Legislation that extends the emergency scheduling of fentanyl analogues as Schedule 1 drugs was also included in the recent government funding bill. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) were cosponsors.

“As we continue working to fight the addiction epidemic, it’s critical that we make sure law enforcement retains the tools they need to seize fentanyl-related substances and combat drug trafficking,” said Rep. Pappas.

The DEA report ends with a partial list of federal government drug use prevention agencies and programs. The report notes, “There are many other outstanding efforts which are ongoing across the nation; it is impossible to include them all.”


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