Ask any local drug cop about the danger and availability of heavy duty narcotics — drugs that include heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine or fentanyl — and you’re likely to get an ear full.

That’s because those drugs, perhaps in the minds of some more related to inner city venues than rural locations, are increasingly on Upper Peninsula streets.

Although meth, heroin and cocaine have been scourges for many years, fentanyl is comparatively new, at least in terms of incidence.

But increasingly, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent that morphine, is being found in the U.P., fueling a public health crisis.

In response, the federal law enforcement agency on the front lines in what’s left of the drug war — the Drug Enforcement Administration — has launched a special effort to disrupt the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States.

Project Wave Breaker will direct interdiction, enforcement and outreach efforts to the Detroit Field Division to disrupt the flow of fentanyl in and around the United States, a DEA news release states. The initiative will also employ analytical intelligence assets to target the activities of transnational criminal organizations, which are the primary suppliers and distributors of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl substances throughout the United States.

“While a major entry point for fentanyl is the Southwest border, the cartels are spreading their poison into communities across the Nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans.

We support efforts like this to rid our streets of drugs like fentanyl.

For resources and additional information on fentanyl and other illicit drugs, visit www.dea.gov/divisions/facts-about-fentanyl.