New Hampshire officials emphasize call to action on National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day
'Some people in the past call this a war on drugs. This is a race to save lives.'
'Some people in the past call this a war on drugs. This is a race to save lives.'
'Some people in the past call this a war on drugs. This is a race to save lives.'
National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day, observed on Aug. 21, was started by two parents who lost their child to fentanyl.
Drug overdose or poisoning is the leading cause of death in America for people between 18 to 45 years old.
Members of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration are urging people to be aware to prevent more deaths.
Last year, 107,622 Americans died from a drug overdose and 70% were caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“107,622 reasons to go home tonight and go home and have this conversation with your family members, friends, and anyone else you can,” said Jon Delena, DEA deputy special agent in charge.
It requires a conversation about how little fentanyl it takes to take a life.
“You measure out 10-15 grains of salt and you see how little that is, that's what we're talking about,” Delena said.
In Manchester and Nashua alone, 86 people overdosed on opioids in July this year, and over 500 have in the past year.
Chris Stawasz, regional director of the American Medical Response, said that these numbers are going back to what they saw pre-pandemic.
“People have been inside for significant periods of time during the pandemic and a lot of people are self-medicating,” Stawasz said.
Delena said fentanyl is morphing its way into fake prescription pills.
“Now we have drug trafficking organizations that are lacing other drugs, like cocaine and methamphetamines and putting fentanyl inside that drug, tricking that user,” Delena said.
The reason this problem is so widespread across the U.S. is due to two major Mexican drug cartels that teamed up with chemical supply companies in China to synthesize these drugs.
“Some people in the past call this a war on drugs,” Delena said. "This is a race to save lives.”
There is legitimate pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl for cancer patients.
Prescription drugs cannot be bought off of social media. They require a prescription from a legitimate pharmacy.