The Ministry of Justice has listed two chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a synthetic opioid painkiller, as controlled substances in response to a call by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) for joint efforts to combat illegal manufacture of the drug.

The Controlled Drugs Review Committee under the ministry decided on Tuesday to classify Norfentanyl and tert-butyl 4-anilinopiperidine-1-carboxylate as precursor chemicals for schedule 4 drugs, the ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Noting that the move came after AIT, the de facto embassy of the United States in Taiwan, on April 29 called on Taiwan to tighten its regulatory control of fentanyl, the ministry said it updated local rules on the drug so they are in line with international standards.

According to WebMD, a U.S.-based website focusing on health and medical issues, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. The drug interacts with receptors in the brain to create feelings of pain relief, relaxation, contentment, and pleasure.

In recent years, illegally manufactured non-pharmaceutical fentanyl has been identified as a leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States, including pop star Prince who died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl in 2016 at 57.

The ministry said it deeply empathizes with Washington in its efforts to combat drug-related offense because abuse of drugs primarily involving fentanyl causes tens of thousands of deaths every year in the U.S.

As crime-related offenses are crimes under universal jurisdiction, the inclusion of the two precursor chemicals on the list of controlled chemicals better enables Taiwan to cooperate with international partners in fighting drug related crime, the ministry said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel