Terrorist Scenario: Carfentanyl Attack

Carfentanyl Attack Terrorist Scenario
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Carfentanyl Attack Terrorist Scenario
The United States remains under constant threat of attack using different agents of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) varieties. Projections by different researchers reveal that non-state terrorist actors continuously pursue CBRN weapons to cause havoc in the nation. Such persistence demonstrates the imminent risks arising from chemical weapons due to their availability (House, 2016). One of the emerging chemical weapons with increasing risks of being weaponized and deployed in the country is Carfentanyl (Tin et al., 2021). Diverse aspects make it easy for terror groups to acquire and use this chemical as a weapon. As a result, this paper investigates the various availability aspects that present this agent as a concern for my hometown security to determine and devise appropriate techniques for averting likely attacks.
Carfentanyl Agent Background
Carfentanyl is an opioid commonly used for tranquilizing large animals. As a result, only veterinarians have access to this drug in the country (Heslop & Blain, 2020). Giesler and Saindon (2019) add that Carfentanyl is a fentanyl derivative that has raised significant concern among experts because its use in the wrong doses triggers potentially life-threatening reactions. The worrying aspect is that a negligible dose of about 2-20 micrograms, equivalent to one grain of sugar, is lethal. Thus, the awareness of such quantities and reactions has attracted interest from terror groups because it presents room for misuse as a chemical weapon of mass destruction. For instance, Shafer (2019) recognizes the recent association of Carfentanyl with looming terrorist attacks. Its ease of weaponization and accessibility due to dual use makes it a threat to homeland security. According to Mauroni (2010), despite authorities downplaying chemical weapons, they are starting to acknowledge the threats they pose. Such realizations relate to the emerging technologies and the historical aspects of certain agents like Carfentanyl.
The weaponization of opioids like Fentanyl and its analogs, such as Carfentanyl, started in the 1960s but did not gain significant momentum. United States military focused sizeable resources from 1970 to 1990s on research of these agents, leading to the discovery of Carfentanyl as the most lethal synthetic derivative (Giesler & Saindon, 2019). For instance, the author reveals that its lethality is