As CNN noted, it’s hard for the CDC to report about fentanyl-related overdose deaths because there are many different variants, and because national data doesn’t record fentanyl-specific deaths. And separate data show the number of deaths involving synthetic opioids, a class that includes fentanyl and tramadol but not hydrocodone, rose 79 percent during that same period. According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this drug overdose epidemic is likely fueled by illegally manufactured fentanyl.
Advertisement
That suggests, the authors say, that illegally manufactured fentanyl is driving the spike in overdoses.
However, the deaths appear to stem from illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is manufactured in clandestine laboratories and is often mixed with other drugs, such as heroin, without buyers’ knowledge.
From 2013 to 2014, there was a 426 percent increase in fentanyl submissions-“Drug products obtained by law enforcement that tested positive for fentanyl”. Doctors prescribe it as an injection, patch, lollipop, or nasal spray for patients with severe pain that can’t be treated with morphine.
From 2010-2012 to 2013-2014, the total number of people in Florida who died from fentanyl-related overdoses increased from 379 to 582, and the number of people ages 14-34 increased from 82 to 200. The DEA says illegal fentanyl is being brought into the US from China and Mexico and users do not know they are taking a potentiality deadly drug.
After his death in April, pop star Prince’s toxicology report found fentanyl in his system.
The first half of 2015 is on track to far surpass the previous four years with 289 deaths statewide from January to June 2015, which is the most recent data available.
Out of the 27 states studied for the findings, the CDC identified eight states as “high-burden”: Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Florida, Maine, and North Carolina.
Advertisement
More recently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in July that fentanyl was also showing up in counterfeit pain pills. In 2014, it had the second largest number of opioid-related deaths in the country and the fifth highest rate of overdose. “Understanding and detecting illegal manufacturing of fentanyl is key, and public health and law enforcement officials need to work together to deal with this problem”. Bertha Madras, formerly a director in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and now a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School, likened illicit fentanyl to crack cocaine. “It enters the brain much more quickly”.
