Fentanyl continues to destroy lives across the state, and western Pennsylvania is not immune.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general was in Pittsburgh on Monday to talk about how to stop the flow of the dangerous drug.

First, there was OxyContin, then there was heroin, and now, fentanyl is what’s taking so many lives when it comes to illegal drugs.

Attorney General Dave Sunday has released some shocking numbers. He says the battle against the deadly drug is ongoing, and they’re making progress, but this war is far from over.

“The mission is to stop fentanyl, to remove fentanyl from our streets, in our streets and neighborhoods, and to hold accountable the predatory traffickers profiting in death and destruction,” Attorney General Sunday said.

Sunday pointed out the cold reality in the form of numbers. Figures that he says add up to the fatal toll the illegal drug continues to produce.

“We have seized more than 100,000 grams, which is more than 220 pounds, through September, which puts us at over 50 million doses and counting,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Nearly 18 million doses have been seized in the greater Pittsburgh area.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2024, statewide, 3,358 people died from overdose deaths. Sixty percent of those deaths were from fentanyl, with 665 of the victims coming from Allegheny County alone.

“[The drug] enters the United States from Mexico, from chemicals in China,” Attorney General Sunday said, but it’s not exclusive.

Law enforcement officials say the precursor chemicals for fentanyl are also flowing into American ports on both coasts, with millions of pills being produced in clandestine production facilities in homes, apartments, and businesses.

“People are obtaining these pill presses, they’re making these pills, they’re making their way to schools, to colleges, to parties; it’s unbelievably dangerous,” Attorney General Sunday said.

These operations are dramatically dropping the cost of the deadly drugs.

“A few years ago, an ounce of fentanyl could be upwards of $8,000. That’s 14,000 doses of fentanyl. Today, an ounce can be purchased for $200.”

Attorney General Sunday added that times are dark, but there is hope. He cited the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative program, otherwise known as LETI.

“The program diverts individuals out of the criminal justice system and into treatment,” Sunday said. “Long-term recovery is a very real thing.”