Why does fentanyl exist? The history behind the substance driving record overdose deaths in the US
Published in Slideshow World
Fentanyl was the most promising medical advancement of its time. It's now one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
The highly addictive synthetic opioid has infiltrated illicit drug supplies and left holes in families across the nation. According to a New York Times analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, fentanyl and drugs like it caused nearly 74,000 overdose deaths in 2022, surpassing other public health crises like car crash deaths and gun deaths.
It's spurred public policy initiatives in an attempt to stem the flow of fentanyl from China and Mexico. It's led to more regulation of prescription opioids and increased efforts to make opioid abuse treatments more widely available. It's also reigniting debates about how to prosecute drug crimes and how to compassionately treat those who have already become victims of its addictive grip.
Fentanyl is so frequently associated today with pain and suffering that it begs the question: Why was something so dangerous created in the first place? To get to the bottom of that question, Ophelia analyzed resources from academic journals, the Journal of Pain, and archived news articles to illustrate the origin of fentanyl, a drug that has become almost synonymous with America's opioid crisis.
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