Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau have authorized a Swiss-based civil society organization to facilitate chemical testing of a drug that is wreaking havoc in West Africa and has prompted the president of Sierra Leone to declare a national emergency.

Europe is facing a growing threat from potent synthetic substances, new drug mixtures, and evolving usage patterns, particularly after the Taliban imposed a ban on opium poppy cultivation, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) warned in its latest report published on Tuesday.

The U.S. hassanctioned 28 individuals and companies responsible for producing and distributing deadly drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, MDMA, and precursor chemicals for drug production to the United States and Mexico through a Chinese supply chain.