CONCORD, N.H. - Attorney General Jeff Sessions says federal prosecutors in eight states will pursue even seemingly small synthetic opioid cases in hopes of reducing the supply of the drugs in areas with high overdose death rates.
Sessions announced the new program Thursday in New Hampshire, which President Donald Trump has called a "drug-infested den.'' He's scheduled to make a similar announcement Friday in Maine.
Under Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, 10 districts in eight states will choose one county in which to prosecute every case involving the sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids regardless of the quantity involved.
Besides New Hampshire, the program will provide a new assistant U.S. attorney to districts in California, Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia. Sessions said it is modeled on a successful effort in Manatee County, Florida.