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Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States and has become a threat to public health. It is a synthetic opioid that is found in the form of powder, pills, injection and even drops, and that began to be used in the 90s to relieve chronic pain. But little by little it has entered the illegal market. The risk: It is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) explains that two milligrams of fentanyl, which is what fits on the tip of a pencil, can kill a person. But it’s not only more lethal, it’s also cheaper and harder to detect. For this reason, for a few years, traffickers began to mix it with cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and MDMA. Many come to consume it without even knowing it.
In 2021, nearly 107,000 people died of overdoses in the United States, a number never seen before and double that of 2015, when fentanyl use skyrocketed in the country.
Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that this synthetic opioid is the biggest cause of overdose deaths, causing nearly three-quarters of deaths, well above methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. , among others.
What is behind this drastic rise in fentanyl use in the United States? Who is behind the production of fentanyl and how is it affecting the health of thousands of people? To answer these questions, in this edition of El Debate we talked with:
– Michael Vigil, former DEA chief of international operations.
– Miguel Ángel Vega, investigative journalist and author of ‘El fixer’, a book that recounts the difficulties of entering drug kitchens and being in the midst of cartel bosses and federal agents.
