Picture of a U.S. penny next to milligrams of fentanyl, which is a fatal dose for most drug users. DEA
Addiction, Opioids

How the pandemic helped spread fentanyl across the US and drive opioid overdose deaths to a grim new high

The soaring death toll has been fueled by a much more dangerous black market opioid supply. Illicitly synthesized fentanyl – a potent and inexpensive opioid that has driven the rise in overdoses since it emerged in 2014 – is increasingly replacing heroin. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs were responsible for almost two-thirds of the overdose deaths recorded in the 12 months period ending in April 2021.