Foreign Minister Blinken: Fentanil Still The Main Killer Of US Young People

UNSPLASH/New York City ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said fentanyl was still the main killer of the younger generation of America, and fighting drugs was the Joe Biden administration's top priority.

"The number one American killer aged 14 to 45 years is fentanyl," Blinken told reporters during a joint news conference with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna.

Blinken stressed that more than 40 percent of Americans know at least one person who died of an opioid overdose.

"In the US, almost no city, or state is unaffected and, in some cases, destroyed by synthetic opioids and especially fentanyl," he added.

He stressed that overcoming this issue is a priority for the US government.

The US is facing a severe synthetic drug crisis, with fentanyl overdose which is the main cause of death among the younger generation.

Washington has repeatedly accused China of supplying the largest synthetic drug to the US.

Fentanil is a synthetic opioid that is mainly used as a pain reliever for cancer patients. These substances are 50 times stronger than heroin.