WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Fentanyl is now a leading cause of death for young adults in the United States, but as recently as 10 years ago, deaths connected to the drug were relatively rare.
So why is fentanyl suddenly everywhere? Here’s what we know.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid like morphine, but nearly 100 times more potent. It has been made legally since the 1960s and is prescribed to treat pain in cancer patients. Then, in the early 2000s, fentanyl started showing up in the country’s supply of illegal drugs.
“It’s cheap to make, cheaper than a lot of other drugs,” said Charles Marino, former Department of Homeland Security adviser. “It is actually mixed with a lot of other drugs because of that exact point. It drives down the overall cost of that.”
The number of overdoses linked to fentanyl in drugs like cocaine and heroin have been increasing ever since.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of fatal fentanyl overdoses rose from roughly 2,600 in 2011, to more than 70,000 in 2021.
The scary thing about this particular drug is that just traces of it can kill.
Analysis of CDC data by the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl shows the synthetic drug is the leading cause of death for adults between 18 and 45, worse than cancer, COVID-19 or car accidents.
Where is this flood of fentanyl coming from?
The raw materials used to make it, called precursor chemicals, largely come from China and India. They are shipped to labs run by criminal groups in Mexico and Central America, who then press it into pills or mix it with other drugs.
Then, the drugs are smuggled into the U.S., mostly through legal ports of entry. This includes by sea, on massive container ships, and on land, sometimes stashed among other products.
The drugs are also smuggled across the border through illegal crossings.
Who can stop it? This is where things get political, with the U.S., China and Mexico all in a game of finger-pointing.
China has taken some steps to limit the export of precursor chemicals, but both Mexico and the U.S. are calling on them to do more.
The Mexican government has tried to go after some labs and pill mills, but the drug is still making its way into the U.S.
China and Mexico both say the root cause lies in the U.S. itself.
“There is a demand for this and other drugs here in the United States,” Marino said. “So certainly, we need to address that.”
The Biden administration has announced a new plan to address the fentanyl crisis.
The plan calls for improved tracking of pill-pressing machines, increased seizures of cash at the border, and targeting drug traffickers’ access to the U.S. financial system.
In the meantime, many Americans are focusing on trying to save lives. Police and others now carry Narcan with them to treat overdoses. Fentanyl test strips have also become common at drug stores and even bars.