Senators with medical degrees are warning about the dangers of fentanyl in a new public service announcement.
''I come to you today, not only as a U.S. senator but as a physician concerned for the health and safety of our nation. Fentanyl is killing over 200 Americans every day. Unfortunately, many Americans who have died from an overdose didn't even know they were taking the deadliest drug our nation has ever seen,'' Republican Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas, John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Boozman of Arkansas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky say in the video.
''They didn't know that just one pill can kill. … As physicians in the Senate, we know fentanyl is everywhere — no community is spared. … Never take any drug except those personally prescribed by your physician and filled by your pharmacist. Parents, teachers: Please talk to your children before it's too late. … By working together, we can make a difference and stop the drug traffickers that are driving addiction and poisoning our neighbors and children.''
The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration earlier Friday blamed Mexico in part for the fentanyl crisis that is plaguing the U.S.
"We know that the vast, vast majority of that is coming from Mexico, and we know that it is being synthesized openly," Anne Milgram, the DEA administrator, said on Fox's "America's Newsroom."
"And so Mexico — they know it's happening, we know it's happening and they need to work to stop it."
Milgram said the chemicals are coming from China to make the drugs in Mexico.
''And they're made openly throughout the country, and — just to sort of put a fine point on this — last year, we seized 20 million fake pills and 15,000 pounds of fentanyl,'' she said.
"That's 440 million potential lethal doses of fentanyl that we've already seized last year," she added. "This year, to date, we've already seized more than 20 million fake pills."
The senators in the PSA said that fentanyl is ''everywhere.''