The U.S., Canada and Mexico have pledged enhanced coordination measures to combat the rise of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which the countries have jointly recognized as the foremost drug threat in North America.
The White House drug czar will tell Congress on Wednesday that he is designating the combination of fentanyl and "tranq" as an emerging threat to the U.S., underscoring the level of alarm around a vicious drug combo that causes skin abscesses and amputations and is making the deadly overdose crisis even worse.
Democratic lawmakers are pressing the State Department to issue a warning about fentanyl-laced pills sold by Mexican pharmacies to unsuspecting Americans who travel across the border looking for cheaper medication.
House lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill to permanently place fentanyl on the most restrictive list of drugs, though its path to becoming law remains dim because of a partisan rift over mandatory criminal penalties.