US President Donald Trump has issued an order to classify fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction” – a radical political term for a substance that has been quietly killing large numbers of people for decades. Trump declared, “No bomb can do what this one is doing.” He claimed that at least 200,000 to 300,000 people were dying per year as a result of fentanyl use.
correct figureAs recorded by the US public health authority, CDC, it is indeed worrying, but it is much lower than that. The CDC reports that more than 76,000 people will overdose on the drug in 2023. However, this number dropped to 48,422 in 2024. In Europe, the number of deaths remains in the low hundreds.
Why is this drug designed to relieve extreme pain so dangerous? And can it really be called a weapon of mass destruction?
Official meaning of the new classification
The reclassification by Trump means fentanyl is no longer regulated solely by health and criminal law. This is now also considered an issue of national security. Intelligence services and the military could, theoretically, become more involved: for example, in combating drug cartels, or if someone is suspected of planning to use fentanyl in an attack.
In their 2019 study “Fentanyl as a chemical weapon,” the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD) concluded that “there is no basis or need to officially designate fentanyl compounds as weapons of mass destruction, … at least for the Department of Defense.” CSWMD is housed in the Institute for National Strategic Studies, a department of the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, DC, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
However, report author John P. Caves also warns that “there is at least a risk that fentanyl compounds could be used as chemical weapons.” They suggest that the use of aerosolized agents that affect the nervous system, such as fentanyl, in law enforcement should be explicitly prohibited, as it is “inconsistent with the Chemical Weapons Convention.” The Defense Department, he writes, should also “continue to advance its understanding of fentanyl compounds as potential chemical weapons.”
Trump’s decision a ‘political exercise’
National security expert and former Assistant U.S. District Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick has criticized the new classification. He described it as a “political exercise” for which there is “no practical reason”, because: “We already have statutes on the books that trials are conducted, that prosecutors and agents are accustomed to working with, and they are very clear, and they accomplish the same goals.”
National Public Radio (NPR) spoke to several public health and addiction experts who emphasized that it was technically extremely difficult to deploy fentanyl as a conventional weapon of mass destruction in a potential terrorist attack. He said most fentanyl deaths occur among users of adulterated street drugs, not as the result of an attack.
Experts in the field say the new classification will not reduce the availability of fentanyl on the street or the number of overdose deaths. Rather, they see it as a further militarization of the “war on drugs”. Meanwhile, little attention is still being paid to prevention, treatment and social measures.
This move makes international cooperation more difficult – particularly with China, regarding precursor substances, as it gives the impression that Beijing is being accused of indirectly supporting the creation of “weapons of mass destruction”.
Those in the security community who support the move, as well as victims’ organizations such as Families Against Fentanyl, argue that the number of deaths and economic damage caused is equivalent to a “weapon of mass destruction in slow motion”. He says this justifies the deployment of intelligence services, the military and the entire apparatus of international pressure.
Fentanyl Explained: Origins, Medical Uses, and Risks
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. It is a strong pain medication used primarily in anesthesia and end-of-life care of patients with terminal cancer.
It is significantly more powerful than classic opioids like morphine or oxycodone. Even very small amounts are enough to stop severe pain. Fentanyl was initially developed as a highly effective, easily administered anesthetic. It is indispensable for medical care, where dosage and application are strictly monitored.
How Fentanyl Works – Just a Few Milligrams Can Kill
Fentanyl binds to opioid receptors in the central nervous system and suppresses the sensation of pain, often producing an intense feeling of euphoria and relaxation. It is precisely this combination that makes it both attractive as a recreational drug and extremely dangerous. Just a few milligrams can reduce respiratory drive to such an extent that the affected person will only take very shallow breaths or stop breathing altogether.
The results are lack of oxygen, unconsciousness, coma and soon, if the worst happens, respiratory arrest, which can be very fatal. Fentanyl is also highly addictive, and addicts’ tolerance levels increase rapidly, prompting them to increase dosages, and the margin of safety between getting addicted and dying is minimal.
Pills, Patches and Dangerous Mixtures
In hospitals, fentanyl is usually given by intravenous injection or in patches that administer it through the skin at a slow rate continuously. On the black market, it is mostly available in powder form or in the form of manufactured tablets. It is common to find it in forms that can be smoked or inhaled.
The problem is that illegal manufacturers do not provide accurate dosages. They also mix fentanyl with other drugs like cocaine or heroin, and consumers may have no idea how strong the product really is.
As little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. All it takes is a badly mixed plaster or a lot of plaster. Even used fentanyl patches may still contain enough of the active ingredient to endanger a person’s life if misused.
Global supply chains: China, Latin America and the US
Fentanyl is a fully synthetic substance created in chemical laboratories. It began circulating as an illegal recreational drug in the early 1970s, and uncontrolled production increased from the 1980s onwards.
Today, precursor substances and chemical components originating from China are important components of the illicit supply chain. These are processed into fentanyl powder and tablets, primarily in Central and South America. After this, this drug is smuggled from here to Europe and above all to the United States.
In 2022, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 50.6 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and approximately 4.5 tons of fentanyl powder. It was estimated that this quantity represented more than 379 million potentially lethal doses. according to anne milgramThe head of the DEA at the time, this was “enough… to kill every American.”
This article has been translated from German.