Fentanyl is the biggest public health problem in the U.S: Study. According to Forbes, around 93,000 people died in the United States due to drug overdoses. Still, this fact has gone unnoticed as the country has focused on combating the Covid-19 pandemic. From May 2020 to April 2021, the amount increased to 100,000. According to preliminary CDC data, over 107,000 individuals died of a drug overdose in 2021, with opioids accounting for 75% of those deaths.
Despite investing billions in supply and demand efforts to address the problem, the federal government is falling farther behind. The national and regional governments are not doing enough to stop these overdoses from occurring in the long run.
According to the office of New York last week, after steadily rising for more than a decade, opioid overdose fatalities and rates in New York began to reduce after the federal government declared the state a public health emergency in October 2017.
Throughout the crisis, there was a significant increase in opioid-related mortality, with the illegal usage of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids playing an important role. A government study on comorbidities, such as COVID-19 and drug use, discovered that these conditions undoubtedly affected outcomes among vulnerable New Yorkers. The research also highlights social isolation, stress, and limited access to treatment and harm reduction initiatives.
Over the last decade, municipal, state, and federal governments have worked together to address the opioid problem. Since legal prescription opioids are easier to manage for the police than illegal opiates, the overall focus on the central issue has remained.
However, to effectively manage the present issue, it is vital to separate the impacts of illegal and legal opioids. Contrary to popular belief, prescription opiate overuse, abuse, and diversion have played a less role in the opioid crisis than their illicit counterparts in recent years.
One-third of the 44,000 drug overdose deaths in 2013 were caused by the improper use of prescription opioids, which began immediately after the peak in prescriptions in 2012. Since 2013, this has contributed to a decrease in drug overdose deaths caused by the improper use of prescription opioids. More stringent state and local regulatory limits, supported by CDC federal guideline recommendations in 2016, are to blame for the drop in prescription rates.
Some experts feel that the problem pendulum has swung too far in favor of severely limiting prescription opioids, including forced weaning, even though these prescriptions have genuine uses for certain people suffering from acute and chronic pain.
The limitations on doctors’ ability to prescribe illicit opiates may be one factor in patients’ increased interest in and usage. The fact that fentanyl, an illegal synthetic opioid, and heroin are now responsible for the great majority of drug overdose deaths is noteworthy.
The federal government of the United States has made minimizing the introduction of illegal narcotics a primary goal. Various administrations have attempted to implement policies to fight the unlawful trafficking of such chemicals.
The majority of the fentanyl that is illegally supplied in the United States comes from Mexico. Due to actions launched by the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, nearly 20,000 border patrol personnel have been deployed. Nonetheless, many Americans continue to sneak contraband via government checkpoints.
