May 12th, 2023
National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies (NASDEA) Vice President Don Payton recently met with United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram in Washington, D.C., to discuss ongoing efforts to combat the emerging drug and counterfeit pill crisis in the United States.
The meeting included information about the One Pill Can Kill initiative, launched by DEA in September 2021, to raise public awareness and enforcement actions against the fake pills that are mass-produced in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate, and are killing Americans at an unprecedented rate.
Vice President Payton expressed NASDEA’s support for the initiative and learned about best practices and challenges faced by the state drug enforcement agencies in dealing with the counterfeit pill threat. The importance of collaboration and coordination among the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to disrupt and dismantle the illicit drug supply chains was also discussed.
Administrator Milgram thanked NASDEA for their leadership and commitment to ongoing drug enforcement efforts, along with work done by NASDEA member agencies in enhancing the drug enforcement capabilities and capacities across the nation. She emphasized the need for continued vigilance and action to protect the public from the dangers of emerging drugs of abuse, including fentanyl-laced fake pills.
The meeting concluded by reaffirming the partnership and cooperation between NASDEA and DEA in advancing the One Pill Can Kill initiative and other drug enforcement priorities.
