Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans between ages 18-49, according to the Washington Post’s analysis of CDC data. It is the worst addiction crisis in American history, and it’s getting worse. So why hasn’t the DEA or DHS gone all-out on Fentanyl makers and distributors? Why haven’t our presidents held any Oval Office addresses to rally the nation to fight this? The Washington Post investigated the weak federal response and origins of the fentanyl crisis.
“What we're talking about is illicit fentanyl that is produced illegally by Mexican drug trafficking organizations and smuggled across the border and distributed across the United States. And that really began to pick up around 2016-2017,” says the Washington Post’s Nick Miroff. “Initially it was an additive to enhance the potency of illegal heroin. But it soon came to replace heroin on the streets of the United States. And people with opioid addiction are seeking out fentanyl because of its incredible potency and its cheap price.”
He notes, “When you go into the DEA lobby now in Northern Virginia, right near the Pentagon, they have the portraits of thousands of young people who lost their lives to fentanyl in their lobby. So there is a new focus on this threat. And the challenge, though, is that it's several years behind, and they're now playing catch-up.”