A Look Into The Present Fentanyl Crisis
The fentanyl epidemic is hitting the United States hard from California to New York and every state in between. In September of 2021, the Drug Enforcement Agency issued a warning about a spike in the sale of counterfeit opioid pills laced with fentanyl. Almost two million counterfeit pills have been seized, and 800 drug traffickers have been arrested in a short span of only two months. Fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and is also addictive.
Opioid-related deaths have seen a substantial increase from 2019 to 2020. About 50,000 people died from all opioid-related deaths in the United States in 2019. Almost 70,000 people died in 2020. That is an increase of nearly 20,000 additional deaths in only one year. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are responsible for over 80% of the total opioid overdose deaths.
The primary source of illicit fentanyl coming into the United States is Mexico. Drug cartels in Mexico use chemicals from China to manufacture fentanyl, which is then smuggled across the United States-Mexico border.
Fentanyl is easier and cheaper to produce than heroin. This makes fentanyl the preferred drug of choice to manufacture for drug cartels. Furthermore, fentanyl can be easily pressed into a pill shape and mixed with other drugs.
The United States is not alone in dealing with a deadly fentanyl epidemic. Other countries are also suffering the consequence of this highly potent and dangerous drug flooding the streets. The United States is by far, though, the most impacted country so far by the scourage of fentanyl.
Some countries, such as Canada, have responded to the fentanyl crisis by instituting harm-reduction strategies. Such a strategy involves distributing powerful prescription drug opioids to addicts in an attempt to limit overdose deaths. Prescription drugs are safer and will not be laced with the deadly fentanyl common in street drugs. Other countries, such as Estonia, have taken an approach that involves cutting off the supply of fentanyl coming into their country. It has had some success.
The government on the state and federal levels in the United States is taking action to combat the fentanyl crisis. Several states have legalized fentanyl test strips that can be used to detect deadly fentanyl in pills. The FDA has approved a higher dose of naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses and save lives. Congress is looking at reclassifying the status of opioids and is considering providing more funding to law enforcement to combat the crisis.
