Documents

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division (PFD) is advising law enforcement and public health counterparts of the increased availability of counterfeit controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) – commonly sold as legitimate CPDs with most containing fentanyl/ fentanyl-related compounds (FRC) – in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

While the presence of fentanyl powder (lethal in doses as small as two milligrams) poses a public safety threat, the ingestion of fentanyl via vaping poses a threat of unknown consequences to the user and those nearby.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Heroin Signature Program (HSP) analyzes hundreds of wholesale-level heroin samples each year to identify the geographic area—Mexico, South America (SA), Southwest Asia (SWA), or Southeast Asia (SEA)—where the samples were manufactured.

The PDIP strives to maintain situational awareness of the threat posed by prescription opioids in Pennsylvania, and to share these analyses with stakeholders in federal, state, and municipal governments. In 2013, the PDIP published a Pharmaceutical Threat Assessment for Pennsylvania that found prescription opioid availability and abuse at epidemic levels. In 2016 and 2019, the PDIP published updated assessments detailing prescription opioid availability and abuse trends; this 2020 assessment builds on the previous analyses.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division (PFD) Intelligence Program conducted an analysis of drug availability and abuse for the State of Delaware. This product highlights significant findings regarding various drug trends since last reported in 2017.

The primary drug threats identified in Delaware are illicit opioids, cocaine, controlled prescription drugs, and methamphetamine. The determination of drug threats in Delaware considers a variety of factors including: availability, threat to public health, community impact, attendant crime, enforcement activity, seizures, drug abuse and treatment statistics, and propensity for abuse.

The PFD Intelligence Program analyzed the following indicators in this assessment: illicit and controlled prescription drug availability; drug prices and purity; and fatal drug-related overdose data.

The HSP (Heroin Signature Program) is one essential component of the DEA’s Intelligence Program to identify trends in heroin trafficking and distribution in the United States. The objective of the program is to identify and quantify the chemical components of heroin seized at U.S. ports of entry (POE), all non-POE heroin seizures weighing more than one kilogram, randomly chosen samples, and special requests for analysis. Samples submitted to the HSP undergo in-depth chemical analysis at the DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory (SFL1). This chemical analysis allows SFL1 to associate the heroin samples with a production process, or “signature,” which is indicative of a particular geographic source area and processing method.

Since 2009, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reporting from the Los Angeles Field Division (LAFD) has explored drug-related mortality in the LAFD area of responsibility (AOR), which includes the State of Nevada. In 2019, LAFD personnel reviewed post-mortem toxicology records from the period between 2015 and 2018. These records show that the rate of drug-caused deaths per 100,000 in Washoe County alone increased by more than 130 percent during these four year.

DEA's Philadelphia Division conducted a review of laboratory analyzed drug seizures for Pennsylvania. The results of analyzing this data formed the basis for estimating the level of drugs present in Pennsylvania and highlights trends in drug availability. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about vaping and marijuana concentrates - what are they, what their origin is, what are the common street names for vaping and marijuana concentrates, what do vapes and various concentrates look like, how they are used/abused, what their effect of their use on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the class of drugs known as synthetic opioids - what are they, what their origin is, what are common street names for these drugs, what do they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the class of drugs known as stimulants - what are they, what is their origin and history, what are the common street names for these drugs, what do they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the class of drugs known as steroids - what they are, what is their origin, what are the common street names for these drugs, what do they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the drug salvia divinorum - its history, what it is, common street names, what it looks like, how it is abused, what its effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and its legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the sedative Rohypnol - what it is and its history, common street names, what it looks like, how it is abused, what its effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and its legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about psilocybin (mushrooms)- what are they, what their origin is, what are common street names, what do they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the drugs known as peyote and mescaline - what they are, what their origin is, what are common street names for these drugs, what they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about Oxycodone - what it is, its history, common street names for this drug, what it looks like, how it is abused, and what its effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and its legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the opium - what it is and its history, what are its common street names, what it looks like, how it is abused, what its effect on the minds and bodies of users are including signs of overdose, and it legal status. 

DEA's revised and updated drug fact sheet about the class of drugs known as narcotics - what they are, what their origin is, what are the common street names for these drugs, what do they look like, how they are abused, what their effect is on the minds and bodies of users including signs of overdose, and their legal status.