- Dec 3, 2006
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This is how we get fentanyl off our streets
Counterfeit pills made in the U.S. typically use pill press machines that can be purchased online and can manufacture anywhere from 1,800 pills to more than one million per hour.
DEA laboratory testing indicates that 7 out of 10 counterfeit pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. Counterfeits made in the United States typically use pill press machines that can easily be purchased online and – depending on size and capacity – can manufacture anywhere from 1,800 pills to more than one million pills per hour. Many of the pill presses shipped to the United States come from China. The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on numerous Chinese entities for allegedly distributing pill presses and other equipment used to manufacture illicit fentanyl in the United States. Recently, under "Operation Artemis," CBP officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York seized 14 pill press machines in five separate shipments that arrived from China.
In the United States, pill press laws at the federal level are limited, and state laws are generally weak or nonexistent. Federal law currently prohibits the sale, possession, and use of unregistered pill presses. However, the registration process relies heavily on self-reporting, usually during the sale and transfer of machines. For instance, thousands of pill press machines have been sold through eBay, contributing to the current crisis. Current law also states that any person who possesses a pill press machine with the intent to sell shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than four years, a fine or both. We believe that the criminals who manufacture and traffic these deadly drugs should face clearer, harsher penalties.
For more than four years, we have led bipartisan legislation to make possession of a pill press mold with the intent to counterfeit schedule I or II substances a federal crime. Specifically, our Criminalizing Abused Substance Templates (CAST) Act would allow for criminals who possess a pill press and are planning to manufacture counterfeit pills – whether they have yet to do so or not – to be imprisoned for up to 20 years.