Fentanyl, a powerful opioid used as a pain medication and, together with other medications, for anesthesia, has come under increasing scrutiny in recent times… and for good reason.
According to a recent analysis of data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug-related deaths where fentanyl was found to be involved doubled in 30 states between 2019 and 2021. Even more alarming, a total of five states including Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, California and Texas saw a five-fold increase in fentanyl-related deaths.[1]
Florida had the highest number of total fentanyl deaths last year—over 5,000—a total that more than doubled in just two years.[2]
Families Against Fentanyl founder James Rauh, who lost his son to fentanyl poisoning, said about the report, “The fentanyl crisis is getting worse, not better. Fake pills with deadly amounts of fentanyl are popping up everywhere. It’s in fake Xanax and Percocets, and it’s being laced in cocaine and ecstasy. And a single pill can kill.”[3]
The U.S. government’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confirms that fentanyl can be deadly even in very small amounts, adding that fake prescription pills, as well as heroin, meth and even marijuana, are now being laced with this synthetic opioid.[4]
The 30 states that saw fentanyl deaths doubled — or more-than doubled — over two years include Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana Mississippi, California, Texas, Oregon, Kansas, Idaho, Alabama, New Mexico, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, Washington, Nevada, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, and Arkansas.[5]
Families Against Fentanyl released their analysis of CDC data in December 2021, which found fentanyl deaths surged to the No. 1 cause of deaths for U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 45.[6]
Dr. Roneet Lev, emergency physician and former Chief Medical Officer of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, commented, “It is time to attack fentanyl overdoses with the same vigor and approaches as we do the coronavirus. It is heartbreaking to treat babies who overdosed or people who had no idea their pills or powder was contaminated with a deadly poison.”[7]
Dr. Lev added, “Treating fentanyl overdoses is an attempt to bring someone back from the dead. As an emergency physician I do my best, but sadly we are not always successful. Fentanyl suppliers are preying on the vulnerable in our society.”[8]
Related to the aforementioned report, per CDC statistics, the U.S. recorded its highest number of drug-overdose deaths in a 12-month period, eclipsing 100,000 for the first time—100,306 drug deaths in the 12 months running through April 2021—which marks almost a 30% increase in the deaths recorded during the same period in the previous year.[9] Opioid-related fatalities, the majority of which were fueled by fentanyl, accounted for approximately three quarters of those deaths.[10]
[1] Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2020, and from provisional data for 2018 – Last Month, on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, and from provisional data for 2018 – Last Month, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Detroit News. “Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths Double In 30 States Over 2 Years: Study” 2/5/22.
[4] U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “DEA Issues Public Safety Alert on Sharp Increase in Fake Prescription Pills Containing Fentanyl and Meth.” Sept. 2021.
[5] Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2020, and from provisional data for 2018 – Last Month, on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, and from provisional data for 2018 – Last Month, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html
[6] Families Against Fentanyl. “Fentanyl: The State We’re In.” Dec. 2021.
[7] Detroit News. “Fentanyl Poisoning Deaths Double In 30 States Over 2 Years: Study” 2/5/22.
[8] Ibid.
[9] CDC. “Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Top 100,000 Annually.” Nov. 17, 2021.
[10] Ibid.
