Powerful opioids are easily sold through the Internet and shipped in the mail, investigation finds

WASHINGTON -- Synthetic opioids such as addictive and deadly fentanyl, fueling a drug epidemic, can be easily ordered online and shipped through the mail to United States addresses from China, a congressional investigation found. The investigation under Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Tom Carper of Delaware pins blame on the U.S. Postal Service and State Department. The agencies have rebuffed requests to require electronic shipping information with names and addresses of senders and receivers of international parcels, the senators said. Portman, an Ohio Republican, chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Carper, of Delaware, is the panel's top Democrat.-- More...