Category: Fentanyl
Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
The first wave of the long-running and devastating opioid epidemic began in the United States with the abuse of prescription painkillers in the early 2000s. The second wave involved an increase in heroin use, starting around 2010. The third wave began when powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl started appearing in the supply around 2015. Now experts are observing a fourth phase of the deadly epidemic.
Fentanyl 101
As little as 2 mg of fentanyl (which can fit on the tip of a pencil) can be enough to kill the average American. People can also unknowingly consume fentanyl when it is mixed into or sold as other drugs, including heroin, cocaine, or counterfeit pills.
Fentanyl drives jump in overdose deaths in King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Fentanyl is now involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths to date in 2022, up from under 10% before 2018.
INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY: TAKING ACTION TO SAVE LIVES
This year, King County is working with community partners to expand the use of naloxone (also known as Narcan) – a powerful and very safe tool that can save the life of someone experiencing an opioid overdose – and educate the community about available treatments for opioid use disorder.
Seizures of fentanyl-containing pills rise dramatically
The number of individual pills seized by law enforcement increased nearly 50-fold from the first quarter of 2018 to the last quarter of 2021 and the proportion of pills to total seizures more than doubled, with pills representing over a quarter of illicit fentanyl seizures by the end of 2021.