Trump föreslås behandla drogkrisen som terror

Fentanyl (varunamn Leptanal, Durogesic, Matrifen, Actiq, Abstral samt Fentanyl+företagets namn) är en syntetisk opioid, inom sjukvården använd för smärtlindring. Preparatet togs fram 1959 av det belgiska läkemedelsföretaget Janssens grundare läkaren Paul Janssen. Ämnets effekt är vid en viss dos identisk med heroin; skillnaden är att de olika fentanylerna kan vara hundra gånger starkare än morfin per viktenhet, beroende på exakt sammansättning. En outspädd dos fentanyl är inte större än ett saltkorn. Effekten av fentanyl varar under ganska kort tid i jämförelse med heroin, men en del av de derivat som förekommer varar dock längre tid.

There is an ongoing opioid epidemic (also known as the opioid crisis) in the United States, originating out of both medical prescriptions and illegal sources. It has been called "one of the most devastating public health catastrophes of our time". The opioid epidemic unfolded in three waves. The first wave of the epidemic in the United States began in the late 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management, resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years. The second wave was from an expansion in the heroin market to supply already addicted people. The third wave starting in 2013 was marked by a steep 1,040% increase in the synthetic opioid-involved death rate as synthetic opioids flooded the US market. In the United States, there were approximately 109,600 drug-overdose-related deaths in the 12-month period ending January 31, 2023, at a rate of 300 deaths per day. From 1999 to 2020, nearly 841,000 people died from drug overdoses, with prescription and illicit opioids responsible for 500,000 of those deaths. In 2017 alone, there were 70,237 recorded drug overdose deaths; of those deaths, 47,600 involved an opioid. A report from December 2017 estimated that 130 people die every day in the United States due to opioid-related drug overdose. The great majority of Americans who use prescription opioids do not believe that they are misusing them. The problem is significantly worse in rural areas, where socioeconomic variables, health behaviors, and accessibility to healthcare are responsible for a higher death rate. Teen use of opioids has been noticeably increasing, with prescription drugs used more than any illicit drug except cannabis: more than cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine combined.