Fentanyl crisis plagues America
With Halloween just around the corner, the consumption of candy from a stranger has people worried about what could be in store with the increasing effects of the new fentanyl crisis. According to the CDC, fentanyl was the leading cause for the record number of drug poisoning and overdose deaths just last year. Around 71,000 deaths were linked to synthetic opioids exactly like fentanyl in the last year.
Several efforts have been made to control the spread of fentanyl, such as the collaborative task force of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice which collectively have seized around a dozen million fentanyl-laced pills, and around 100 pounds of fentanyl powder across the United States. Although this just scratches the surface of solving the fentanyl crisis in America, the fentanyl seized is enough to kill around 50 million people, according to ABC News.
Similar to other common drugs, fentanyl has been developed into several different variations, one reportedly being rainbow colored and commonly mistaken for normal candy. Fentanyl has also been reported to be constructed to look exactly alike to less damaging, and more common drugs, such as OxyContin and Percocet. These hurdles, combined with the fact that most fentanyl resources are controlled by out of country sources, make cracking down on fentanyl a truly daunting and rigorous job for the government task force.
The current situation is truly saddening as the effects of the fentanyl crisis are causing harm to young students, some of whom are still in the beginning years of their high school journey. Multiple cases, some of which occurred in the Los Angeles School District, have risen with students even dying during school hours inside the campus bathrooms. In an interview with ABC News, Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Los Angeles School District, announced that Narcon, a treatment of narcotic overdoses, would be available in all K-12 schools in the district. Although a drastic measure, situations like that in Los Angeles may become a reality for schools across America, and getting a control on the situation may prove crucial for damage control to be possible.
