FENTANYL and its         effects

Introduction

Few Americans know about an odorless, tasteless, silent killer in our nation. Which kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. What is this killer? The opioid drug called fentanyl. Fentanyl has become a raging epidemic that keeps growing every year. This epidemic is killing not only adults around the nation, but also, tens of thousands of teens everywhere (Klobucista and Ferragamo). Although this epidemic has been in force for years, not many Americans know the impact it also has on them. Even if someone who does not use fentanyl is still affected by it. Hearing that parents are facing the loss of their children to such a preventable event is devastating. Fentanyl is not a new drug, but it has been around for years: however; educating Americans about its deadly effects and its widespread consequences throughout the US is crucial to stopping this deadly epidemic. It is important that people first learn the history and events that have led to the rise in the Fentanyl epidemic. 

The History 

Even though fentanyl has been in the news in recent years, its epidemic has long been raging. Fentanyl started as a legally manufactured and prescribed intravenous anesthetic in the 1960s. But today its illegal manufacture and distribution has made it an extraordinary threat. Anne Milgram, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in 2022 states "fentanyl is the single deadliest drug our nation has ever encountered” (Klobucista and Ferragamo). They’re three distinct waves to the opioid crisis, starting in the 1990s when there was a growth in overdose deaths from opioid-based medications. Percocet and Oxycontin, which were prescribed for chronic conditions. The next wave, the rise of illegal heroin in the 2010s and now the fentanyl epidemic, has been causing a dramatic spike in overdose deaths since 2013 (Klobucista and Ferragamo). However recent events have contributed to the rise in fentanyl usage around the nation. Additionally COVID-19 dramatically worsened the epidemic as people felt forced to turn to drugs they were less familiar with. The social distancing measures led to people taking more drugs alone, raising the risk of overdosing (Klobucista and Ferragamo). Even though covid increased the epidemics numbers, the trafficking at the southern border is what keeps the epidemic alive. 

The Importation of Fentanyl 

United States officials say most fentanyl is smuggled into the United States through the Mexican border. Smugglers use vehicles or pedestrians who travel with small, easily concealable amounts of drugs. Due to the high potency of fentanyl, the median weight seized is just 1.2 kilograms or 2.6 pounds, which amounts to more than fifty thousand lethal doses. By December 2023, at least 27,000 pounds of fentanyl had been intercepted at the Mexican border (Klobucista and Ferragamo). The two leading Mexican drug cartels that produce Fentanyl are the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. These cartels are dependent on American citizens to smuggle their fentanyl across the border, where 86 percent of traffickers were American citizens between the years 2017 and 2021 (Klobucista and Ferragamo). This epidemic has affected many people throughout the years, but what makes this drug so deadly and destructive?  

The Dangers of Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a cheap drug which is mixed into other substances for a quick high, which is why people have to assume fentanyl is in all drugs, consequently, people overdose by mistake (Finan and Fleming). Unknowingly mixing Fentanyl into other drugs is a primary cause for its danger. Drugs that may contain fatal levels of fentanyl cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. Due to these factors, it makes it almost impossible to distinguish the laced drug from the original unless someone uses fentanyl test strips (National Center). Fentanyl test strips are cheap and produce results within 5 minutes. These test strips can be the difference between life and death (National Center). Powdered fentanyl is commonly mixed with other drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine or made into pills that resemble other prescription opioids. Making fentanyl-laced drugs extremely dangerous. People are usually unaware they are taking a drug laced with fentanyl (National Center). According to the DEA, as many as two in five counterfeit pills contain fentanyl, which is fatal. These counterfeit pills look like prescription drugs which makes them so dangerous (Finan and Fleming). Over 150 people die every day from fentanyl related overdoses, with even small doses posing deadly risk (National Center). Fentanyl's extreme potency allows just two milligrams of the drug to be a lethal dose, roughly equivalent to ten to fifteen grains of table salt (Klobucista and Ferragamo). Due to this small amount, overdoses are common and so it is important to understand and recognize signs of an overdose.

What to Do in an Overdose Situation

Recognizing the signs of an overdose can save a life. Signs may include small, constricted "pinpoint pupils", falling asleep or loss of consciousness; or slow, weak, or no breathing, choking or gurgling sounds, limp body, cold and clammy skin, discolored skin (National Center). Once someone can recognize an overdose is taking place, jumping into action immediately can save that person's life. If someone is overdosing, here are the steps to take to save their lives according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control “1. Call 911 immediately 2. Administer naloxone, if available. 3. Try to keep the person awake and breathing. 4. Lay the person on their side to prevent choking. 5. Stay with the person until emergency assistance arrives” (National Center). Unfortunately Fenntayl is not the only drug abused in America, but it is the most deadly. Eileen Finan and Alexandra Fleming discuss fentanyl and its related deaths saying, “9.6 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl [were] seized by the DEA in 2021. 73 percent of drug-related deaths that involve fentanyl” (Finan and Fleming). In 2021 106,000 people died from drug-involved overdoses in the U.S. alone. These overdoses include illicit drugs and prescription opioids (National Institute).  In 2021 the death toll for fentanyl surged to 80,411 which is ten times the number of service members killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These statistics make fentanyl the leading cause of U.S. deaths in people ages eighteen to forty-five. A study by Mayo Clinic and Yale University concluded that from 2016-2021 deaths from fentanyl have tripled (Klobucista and Ferragamo). Opioid related deaths have been on the rise since 2010. 21,089 people died in 2010 but in 2017 that number rose to 47,600 and remained steady through 2019 but was then followed by a significant increase in 2020 with 68,630 deaths. Then again in 2021, deaths increased with 80,411 reported (National Institute). Many Families have shared the stories of lost loved ones which helps to fully understand the enormity of this drug. 

Learn the Stories of Victims of Fentanyl

In 2015, Tiffany Robertson experienced back problems but when she went to the doctor, she was denied any type of pain medication. Still experiencing pain, an acquaintance offered her what Tiffany thought was Percocet; but unfortunately, it was fentanyl. She was only 26 with two children, three and five. Tiffany's mom explains the hardship after her loss, saying "I remember them crying, wanting her. How do you explain to a 3-year-old that their mommy is never coming back?" (Finan and Fleming). Charlie Ternan, 22, in May 2020 bought what he thought was Percocet off the internet for his back pains, but it turned out to be a counterfeit pill made of fentanyl. That afternoon, while playing video games, Charlie died from that pill (who was only a few weeks from graduating from college) (Finan and Fleming). This drug is affecting the United States as a nation, not only individual people and families. The U.S. economy has taken a heavy toll due to this epidemic. According to estimates from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, the opioid epidemic cost nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020, which is an increase of about one-third since 2017 (Klobucista and Ferragamo). Chris Hickey, an EMS for Manchester, N.H., talks about their struggle to keep up with the increased overdoses. “We're doing three or four overdoses a day. It’s a constant uphill battle for EMTs, paramed-ics, the police. One afternoon we responded to a report of an nonconscious person—an 18-year-old who was helping her aunt clean the house and collapsed. We did CPR for 20 minutes, but she was too far gone” (Finan and Fleming). 

Conclusion

Fentanyl is a killer that is on the rise in America. Killing hundreds of thousands of people every year and that number is growing. Educating Americans about its history and how the drug is dangerous can hopefully decrease those numbers. Learning how to effectively see the signs of an overdose and react to that can save lives.. Studying the statistics of this drug and seeing its impact on the US can open the eyes of people to its danger. But most importantly sympathizing with the victims of this drug and hearing their stories will hopefully convince people to act on this killer. Fentanyl is not a new drug, but has been around for years: however; educating Americans about its deadly effects and its widespread consequences throughout the US is crucial to stopping this deadly epidemic. Fentanyl is not just a city problem, this is a problem all across America and is killing thousands. People may think this doesn’t affect them, but it's closer than they think.