The strips that determine whether a substance contains fentanyl are currently considered paraphernalia in Georgia. That puts a life-saving tool in the same category as a syringe.
Fentanyl-related overdose deaths have spiked since the start of the pandemic, rising more than 106% between May 2020 and April 2021, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
While adult overdoses surged in the last decades, teens hadn't seen the same kind of death rates. But now fatal overdoses nearly doubled in one year and continued to rise in 2021.
Between early February and mid-March, at least 66 emergency department visits in Georgia involved the use of cocaine, methamphetamine, crack, heroin, pain killers and cannabis products that were likely laced with fentanyl, which is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin. Experts worry about increased risk of overdose when users believe that the pills are legitimate pharmaceutical products.
Over the last two months, at least 66 emergency room visits in the state involved the use of cocaine, methamphetamines, counterfeit pills or other drugs likely containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
Wilton Manors police have arrested one person related to an incident earlier this week involving six males overdosing on fentanyl. Cadets from the West Point military academy were involved.
Cartels are increasingly turning to huge, industrial-scale labs to churn out synthetic drugs as they shift away from naturally grown drugs like opium and marijuana.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is rolling out a new plan to slow drug deaths, which he says will include controversial measures such as clean needles and fentanyl test strips.
In its first public safety alert in six years, the Drug Enforcement Administration says many counterfeit prescription drugs sold online contain a potentially lethal dose of the opioid.
Newly published U.S. data finds overdose deaths from methamphetamine use more than doubled in recent years. Use of the stimulant among Black Americans surged nearly tenfold.
Georgia saw a big jump in opioid-related overdose deaths last year, fueled by a doubling of the number of fatalities involving fentanyl, according to data from the state Department of Public Health.
Georgia’s Department of Public Health has issued a warning about a cluster of overdoses from counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl, a potent opioid drug.
China banned fentanyl last year, but an NPR investigation reveals how Chinese vendors continue to market the chemicals used to make the drug on e-commerce and social media sites.
New research shows the use of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl spreading fast in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle. Chinese companies are routing the street drug through cartels in Mexico.
The Drug Enforcement Agency relies on hospitals to identify nurses and doctors who misuse drugs such as morphine and fentanyl. But "only a fraction of those who are diverting drugs are ever caught."
