What is fentanyl? US struggles to contain deadly drug crisis

Drug overdoses among teenagers are surging in America
Fentanyl is relatively easy to obtain, addictive and powerful
REUTERS
William Mata4 May 2023

Warnings have been given about the dangers of a drug which has been linked with a growing number of deaths in the US.

Fentanyl has been described as a poison that has come into the hands of young Americans, particularly in southern states where the substance can easily be imported from Mexico.

Schools are now reportedly on guard and trained to respond to overdoses with warning signs being students who look blue or have a “death snore”.

The incidents are sometimes happening in the middle of the school day.

“This started less than 18 months ago, but when it did start it came with a vengeance,” said Jeff Barnett, the chief of police in the Texas town of Kyle.

“It struck multiple families just in a matter of months, sometimes a matter of weeks,” he told Sky News.

What is fentanyl and what kind of effect has it been having?

Fentanyl pills found by officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration
via REUTERS

It is said to be relatively easy to obtain, addictive and powerful.

The NHS says fentanyl is a strong opioid painkiller used to treat severe pain such as a serious injury, or pain from cancer.

In the UK, it is usually prescribed in cases when regular painkillers are having no effect in severe cases. It can come in the form of tablets, nasal sprays or patches as well as injections, which are usually given in hospitals.

But in the US, it has become more commonplace and is now being used recreationally and among teenagers.

Reuters reports fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and has increasingly been mixed with other illicit drugs often with lethal results.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl more than tripled in the US from 2016 to 2021, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report showed that the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl increased from 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2016 to 21.6 per 100,000 in 2021.

Elainna DeWitt, a school nurse, told Sky: “We usually get called to classrooms and there is a sense of urgency. We look at the students and sometimes they are blue, they are not responsive by any means.

“They have this death snore, it’s really scary to hear. We give them Narcan (a drug to reverse the effects of opioids) and make sure there is a pulse. If not, we have to administer CPR.”

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