ILLICIT OPIOIDS

While Greater Attention Given to Combating Synthetic Opioids, Agencies Need to Better Assess their Efforts

Increased illicit use of synthetic (manmade) opioids has contributed to drugrelated overdose deaths. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl—a substance 100 times stronger than morphine—accounted for more than 19,000 of the nearly 64,000 overdose deaths in 2016, the most recent year for which federal data are available. GAO was asked to review U.S. agency efforts to combat illicit synthetic opioids...