Drug that's 50 times stronger than heroin is causing an epidemic of teen deaths

27 August 2023 , 07:00

661     0

There were 109,680 deaths in 2022 due to the fentanyl epidemic (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Drug deaths in the US hit a new record with over 100,00 deaths in 2022 with fentanyl, sometimes 50 times stronger than heroin, now a nationwide epidemic.

There were 109,680 deaths in 2022 according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The states hit hardest were Washington and Wyoming with deaths rising by 21 per cent, versus nine percent nationwide.

Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said: "That's a very very high level of overdose deaths. One could have expected that as many of the challenges imposed by the Covid pandemic were resolved, we would see a deep dive in the number of overdose deaths. It's concerning we have not seen that."

2020 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses (Getty Images)

Some states have seen improvement and overdose fatalities rose in 2022 at a much slower rate. Others hard hit by the opioid-fentanyl epidemic also saw significant declines in drug deaths.

Texas and Washington state saw the biggest increases in drug fatalities in 2022, with both states suffering roughly 500 additional deaths linked to overdose.

Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’

Police chief Jeff Barnett said that several teenagers had died in Austin, Texas, within months from Fentanyl overdose.

He said: "At that point I knew - there’s something coming. This is a tidal wave."

Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts a place to use (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

High schoolers were passing out from the drug in the school toilets, parking lots and at their desks.

Parents who had lost their children paid for a billboard with pictures of some of the kids who had died that year next to the words: ‘Fentanyl steals your friends.’

Hays Consolidated Independent School District administrators launched an awareness campaign, highlighting the impact of fentanyl on the community through posters, assemblies, and a series of videos.

One video shows footage of a high schooler overdosing in the elementary-school parking lot: an S.U.V. backs into a parking place; a young man drags his limp friend out of the car and onto the pavement, throws water in his face, calls 911, and attempts CPR.

One Texas policeman saw several teenagers die of overdoes within months (Getty Images)

On the state level, Texas has largely pursued a punitive, zero-tolerance approach to the crisis.

Fentanyl-testing strips are still illegal in Texas, although Abbott recently signalled support for their decriminalization.

Earlier this month, the State Senate unanimously passed a bill that would classify fentanyl deaths as poisonings, which would mean that people who make or distribute pills that result in an overdose death could face murder charges.

Katherine Keyes, Columbia University epidemiology professor said: "The fact that it does seem to be flattening out, at least at a national level, is encouraging. But these numbers are still extraordinarily high. We shouldn't suggest the crisis is in any way over."

Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout

A public health crisis was declared due to the epidemic in 2016 (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The White House described these latest numbers as progress, arguing that by slowing the increase in drug deaths, thousands of lives have been saved nationwide.

Dr Rahul Gupta, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said: "We've expanded treatment to millions of Americans, we're improving access to Naloxone to reverse overdoses, and we're attacking the illicit fentanyl supply chain at every choke point. As a result, around 19,000 people are still alive and can be there at the dinner table, at birthdays, and at life's most important moments."

He acknowledged only 1 in 10 Americans experiencing addiction currently get medical treatment.

Parents who lost their children created a billboard featuring their loved ones to raise awareness (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

A major study from predicted opioid-fentanyl drug deaths will remain high, claiming another 1.2 million lives in the US by the end of this decade.

Volkow, head of NIDA, suggested major policy changes could begin to reduce opioid-fentanyl deaths, but she acknowledged progress has been slow. The US still lacks real-time data about overdoses and drug deaths.

Volkow added: "I am basing my estimate on drug overdose deaths on data that is basically six months old. So what is happening right now? I don't know. You need timely data, otherwise you're [responding to this crisis] with your eyes closed."

Fentanyl is arriving in the US from Mexico, but it is most commonly brought through ports of entry, by U.S. citizens, authorities say.

Emilia Randall