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War on Drugs

Overdose Deaths from Fentanyl Surge Reaching Record High in US

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Another record has been reached in the United States: “an estimated 105,752 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending October 2021” reports CNN Health. The data was published last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Two-thirds of the deaths were a result of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. “Fentanyl, even at very, very small quantities, is lethal for most people,” said Katherine Keyes, an associate professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health whose research focuses on psychiatric and substance use epidemiology. “It’s just an incredibly potent opioid.”

The CDC data reveals roughly 15,000 more people died last year, a 16% increase in overdose deaths than in the previous year. CNN reports “data first indicated that  overdose deaths from any drug surpassed 100,000 annually in data through April 2021. This is the seventh month in a row that estimates for the latest 12-month period have stayed above this level.”

“Overdose deaths from methamphetamine and other psychostimulants increased significantly, up nearly 40% from the year before. They accounted for about 30% of all overdose deaths in the latest 12-month period” adds CNN.

Principal research scientist at the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute wrote in an email to CNN that “reconceptualizing opioid-use disorder as an urgent health emergency is necessary.”

“Mentally and financially depressed people are at increased risk for harms associated with opioids, so addressing wellness, poverty and housing are essential to health overall, including opioid-use disorder.”

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Stephane

    March 21, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    THANK YOU biden!

  2. Dot

    March 23, 2022 at 11:10 pm

    These deaths are NOT overdoses! They are POISONINGS from Fentanyl manufactured in China and added to other drugs by the Cartels.

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Immigration

Thousands of pounds of meth seized from vegetable shipments in one week from one border location

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized large quantities of methamphetamine this month alone at just one cargo facility located in Otay Mesa, California. Law enforcement officials warn that this month’s thousands of pounds of meth were smuggled in none other than vegetables.

A shipment of peppers and tomatillos being driven by a 27-year-old male with a valid border crossing card driving a commercial tractor-trailer was stopped by CBP officers, reports The Center Square:

At first glance, the shipment appeared to contain only peppers and tomatillos. But after a K-9 unit screened it, officers examined the trailer and found a box containing a crystal-like substance. Additional officers were radioed to provide assistance and began extracting package after package hidden under the produce. They found 3,594 packages that were tested and identified as methamphetamine. The stash totaled 3,671.58 pounds.

At the same facility and in the same week CBP officers uncovered another massive load of meth being smuggled inside a shipment of carrots. The Center Square reports:

They stopped a 44-year-old man, also a valid border crossing card holder, driving a commercial tractor trailer hauling a shipment manifested as carrots. Officers unloaded the cases of carrots and found suspicious packages hidden underneath, which were tested and identified as methamphetamine. Overall, they seized 574 packages weighing approximately 2,900 pounds.

In both instances, the meth and commercial tractor-trailers were seized; the drivers were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

The Center Square writes that Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S., including “task saturation” and “migrant warfare,” according to authorities. Surging resources in one area to leave the border open in another area enables cartel operatives and gangs they work with to commit a range of crimes. Another tactic is hiding people and drugs in trucks, including behind or under produce, to bring through ports of entry.

 

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