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Will designating fentanyl as a WMD misfire?
Brookings
2025.12.23
On December 15, the Trump administration designated illicit fentanyl and its “core precursor chemicals … such as Piperidone or other Piperidone-based substances,” as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). Some families of fentanyl victims may consider the designation a welcome Christmas gift; others may see it as merely tough posturing. The designation does, in fact, significantly intensify the criminalization of fentanyl trafficking, dealing, and even, potentially, use. It reinforces the Trump administration’s overall conceptualization of drug policy as centering on maximum-strength militarized supply-side measures while reducing access to treatment. The implications range from domestic law enforcement to foreign policy. There is little clarity so far as to how the Trump administration intends to use the WMD designation. But it sets up a basis for more military counternarcotics actions abroad and intensified criminalization of drug dealing and use at home.