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State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
California DOJ continues all-in approach to address the fentanyl crisis through enforcement, litigation, and effective public policy
SAN DIEGO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced that the California Department of Justice (California DOJ) has joined the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST), a joint effort by U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as other law enforcement agencies, to target fentanyl being trafficked through the Southern Border and into San Diego County. Attorney General Bonta made the announcement at a Fentanyl Roundtable today cohosted by the Attorney General, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas. The roundtable brought together local, state, and federal leaders to discuss and collaborate on California’s efforts to end the fentanyl crisis. At the event, Attorney General Bonta discussed California DOJ’s strategy to address this multifaceted crisis by collaborating on enforcement operations and seizures with law enforcement partners statewide, bringing billions of dollars for recovery services into California by holding the opioid industry accountable, and developing and implementing effective public policy solutions with legislative partners.
“California is all-in when it comes to addressing fentanyl and protecting the safety of our communities,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Fentanyl is a threat to our communities as it is cheap, potent, and very lethal. Fentanyl can be disguised in common drugs, and just a small amount is enough to potentially kill a user. We urge Californians, especially our youth, to steer clear of this lethal drug. We will continue working with law enforcement partners to address this crisis. I am proud today to announce our newest partnership as we join FAST, and confident that our investigative resources and legal support will help stop the flow of fentanyl into our state and keep it out of our communities.”
“This is a problem that demands a unified response from all segments of our society – government, healthcare, law enforcement, and the community. Today, we are standing united to stop the misery that fentanyl is causing in San Diego and across California,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. ”In San Diego, we are sending the message to dealers that preying on our children, our families and people experiencing homelessness will not be tolerated -- and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
“We are incredibly grateful to Attorney General Bonta for adding two prosecutors to the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team, known as FAST,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “FAST was formed one year ago and is already a model across the country. During its inaugural year, FAST led or supported more than 70 law enforcement operations resulting in the arrest of 53 fentanyl smugglers, distributors, and dealers in San Diego County. Collaboration with partners like AG Bonta is a critical force multiplier in our fight against fentanyl.”
Fentanyl is a powerful and potentially addictive synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin. A small amount of fentanyl, just two milligrams, can result in overdose and potentially death. Fentanyl can be found in different forms, including pills, powder, and liquid, and is produced legally through the legal pharmaceutical market and illegally through the illicit drug market. Illicit fentanyl has been found in many drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, counterfeit pills, and cocaine. Fentanyl mixed with any drug increases the likelihood of a fatal overdose. Illicit fentanyl has also reportedly been produced in rainbow colors, potentially aimed at increasing consumption among users, especially young adults.
In California in 2020, 5,502 people died due to opioid overdose, and 3,946 died due to fentanyl overdose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation has experienced the overdose epidemic in three distinct but interconnected waves: an increase in deaths from prescription opioid overdoses since the 1990s, an increase in heroin deaths starting in 2010, and a more recent surge in deaths from other illicit opioids, such as fentanyl.
Attorney General Bonta is addressing this challenge through an all-in, multifaceted approach using ongoing enforcement, litigation, and effective public policy strategies for prevention. California DOJ works with law enforcement partners to take fentanyl out of communities and hold poison peddlers accountable. Since April 2022, the California DOJ has seized approximately 9,348,852 fentanyl pills seized, 1,213 pounds of powder seized, and over 200 arrests. This includes a Placer County arrest leading to the first-in-the-state homicide conviction against a fentanyl dealer for providing a lethal dose leading to the death of a 15-year-old girl. In addition to this on-the-ground work, Attorney General Bonta continues advancing effective public policy and working with national partners to hold the opioid industry accountable for their role in creating the opioid crisis and its impacts. To date, California DOJ has secured over $32 billion through nationwide settlements, including $2 billion for California, bringing needed funding back to communities for treatment and prevention strategies.
Today, Attorney General Bonta announced that California DOJ would expand this work by entering into the FAST, which focuses on the flow of fentanyl from the California-Mexico Border. FAST is a multiagency taskforce, first established in August 2022, focused on the disruption and dismantlement of criminal organizations who smuggle and distribute fentanyl within San Diego County. FAST targets fentanyl smuggling and distribution networks to counter the rising overdose rate and decrease the availability and accessibility of fentanyl. San Diego County has experienced a 700% increase in fentanyl overdose deaths since 2016, linked to fentanyl — both counterfeit pills and powder — being smuggled from Mexico into the United States. FAST uses traditional and advanced investigative techniques to target the individuals and criminal organizations involved in fentanyl smuggling and distribution. California DOJ joins HSI San Diego, with full time partnership from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CBP OFO), Enforcement and Removal Operations, the United States Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the San Diego USAO in this work.
Attorney General Bonta’s Fentanyl Enforcement Program
This announcement supplements the current enforcement work of California DOJ. In April 2021, Attorney General Bonta established the statewide Fentanyl Enforcement Program that is designed to detect, deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal fentanyl operations and prevent fentanyl from reaching California neighborhoods and communities. The program is housed in California DOJ’s Bureau of Investigation, which works with allied task forces, including local and federal law enforcement partners through California. This work has touched many communities through operations to remove fentanyl from California communities including in Placer and Merced Counties, and to advance legal actions to hold manufacturers and distributors accountable.
In the 2023 Budget Act, California DOJ secured $7.9 million for the creation of the program within DOJ under coordination of the Bureau of Investigation to expand this important work, with an allocation of $6.7 million in ongoing funding. This funding is in addition to DOJ's ongoing efforts through its Bureau of Forensic Services, which, among other things, supports law enforcement across the state by directly screening for and quantifying the amount of fentanyl present in drug offense-related samples submitted to DOJ.
Litigation to Hold the Opioid Industry Accountable
The opioid crisis stems from an increase in prescription opioids and illegal practices by opioid manufacturers and sellers who misled healthcare providers and patients about the addictive nature of opioids, contributed to an over-supply of opioids in the market, and helped create the crisis the country faces today. Through ongoing litigation and investigative efforts, DOJ seeks to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors who are alleged to have fueled the crisis to account, and to bring funding and relief to affected communities nationwide, including:
Public Policy and Legislation
Attorney General Bonta works with policymakers and state leaders to address fentanyl and improve education about the dangers of the drug in California. For the 2023 legislative session, Attorney General Bonta supported the following pieces of legislation which were signed by Governor Newsom into law:
More information about Attorney General Bonta’s strategies to address the fentanyl crisis can be found at oag.ca.gov/fentanyl.