What to Make of the Good News About Fentanyl?
Florida is the land of many scary things, but one would be hard pressed to find something scarier than fentanyl. Alligators are scary, until you consider the American crocodiles at the far end of Miami-Dade County, plus the introduced species, such as the Nile monitor lizards that can grow to alligator length, swim like alligators, and eat alligator eggs, or the occasional Nile crocodile, a more vicious crocodilian species than anything native to the Americas, of which occasional sightings have been reported in Florida over the past decade. The traffic on the South Florida section of I-95 is terrifying, and so is the fact that Florida is in the path of at least one named tropical storm or hurricane per year. Even the thunderstorms that rage every afternoon in Florida are the stuff of nightmares. When you look at the numbers, though, fentanyl is scarier than all of those. More people in Florida die from fentanyl overdoses than from car accidents, hurricanes, lightning strikes, or alligator attacks. As a result, there is widespread public support for draconian laws about drug crimes, especially when fentanyl is involved. This year’s report by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offers some encouraging news about the dangers of fentanyl in society, but that does not mean that there are any plans to change the drug crime laws in Florida, at least not yet. Here, our Miami drug crimes defense lawyer explains the DEA’s new report on fentanyl, and what it could mean for your drug case.
Why the Fuss About Fentanyl?
If you are young, then you probably do not remember a time when fentanyl was not the bogeyman. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, used in medicine for pain relief. When given for the management of chronic pain, such as for cancer patients, it is often applied as transdermal patches or administered in the form of lollipops that dissolve slowly. This way, the patient receives only a tiny amount of the drug at a time. Likewise, it is part of a combination of drugs administered during surgical anesthesia; the anesthesiologist carefully monitors the dosage and the patient’s response. Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance; this category is reserved for drugs that pose great dangers if abused but also have legally recognized medical applications.
The trouble with fentanyl is that it is 100 times as strong as heroin, making it one of the strongest opioids in the world. It is also less expensive than other prescription opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. Therefore, it is prevalent in the illegal drug supply, and most people who consume fentanyl do not know it. It might be present in a drug powder that the seller says contains heroin, or even non-opioids such as cocaine or methamphetamine. Counterfeit prescription pills also often contain fentanyl because of its low price. This is true of pills that purport to contain opioids, such as dark web-sourced oxycodone, and also of fake Adderall, Xanax, and other counterfeit pills that do not contain any opioids in their genuine form. Therefore, it is easy to accidentally overdose on fentanyl.
The DEA’s New Report Shows Less Damage From Fentanyl Than in Previous Years
In November 2024, the DEA released its most recent report on fentanyl statistics, and it showed fentanyl causing less damage than it has done in previous years. The report included data collected between June 2023 and June 2024. It showed that fentanyl-related deaths had decreased by 14 percent compared to the preceding year, which is the biggest single-year decrease since the DEA began reporting data on fentanyl.
Part of this is because of efforts to reduce fatalities in fentanyl overdose cases. First responders carry naloxone, a drug that quickly reverses the effects of opioid overdose. It is even possible for consumers to get naloxone to take home, and there have been instances of 911 operators advising family members of overdose patients over the phone on how to administer naloxone. Furthermore, expanded access to addiction treatment may have contributed to the decrease in fentanyl overdoses.
The report also noted that the prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply has decreased. This year, only 50 percent of counterfeit pills confiscated by the DEA tested positive for fentanyl. For most of the years on record, the number exceeded 70 percent.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing charges for possession of drugs that tested positive for fentanyl. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Source:
DEA’s Third Annual National Family Summit on Fentanyl Highlights Progress in Fight to Save Lives
