![]() When one government aggressively restricts the precursor chemical, traffickers simply buy it elsewhere. The criminal organizations that traffic synthetic drugs are extremely adept at exploiting weak links in our interconnected global system. If we don’t act together with fierce urgency, more communities around the world will bear the catastrophic costs that are already affecting so many American cities, so many American towns. Having saturated the United States market, transnational criminal enterprises are turning elsewhere to expand their profits. One of the main reasons we wanted to come together today is because we believe the United States is a canary in the coal mine when it comes to fentanyl, an exceptionally addictive and deadly synthetic drug. In Africa, it’s tramadol in the Middle East, fake Captagon pills in Asia, Ketamine. And every region is experiencing an alarming rise in other synthetic drugs. According to the United Nations, more than 34 million people around the world use methamphetamines or other synthetic stimulants annually. America is far from alone in facing this challenge. In 2022 our administration released a National Drug Control Strategy that for the first time the United States embraces harm reduction efforts that meet people where they are and engages them in care and services. That’s why President Biden has made it a top priority for us to tackle two of the critical drivers of this epidemic in the United States: untreated addiction, and drug trafficking. It’s also inflicting a massive economic toll – nearly $1.5 trillion in the United States in 2020 alone, according to a report by our Congress our public health system, our criminal justice system all bearing the costs. For the individuals, the families, the communities affected, the pain caused by these deaths and by the millions who suffer with substance use is immeasurable. Two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids. Nearly 110,000 Americans died last year of a drug overdose. The number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49 – synthetic drugs, notably fentanyl. And it’s almost worth pausing on that fact. Synthetic drugs are the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49. We feel this acutely in the United States. We are grateful to the senior government officials from more than 80 countries, as well as leaders from over a dozen regional and international organizations for joining us (inaudible). Welcome to the launch of the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats. Colleagues, on behalf of President Biden, welcome. Blinken Opening Remarks at a Virtual Ministerial Meeting to Launch the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drugs
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