AG Reports Fentanyl Outbreak In Pennsylvania

AG Reports Fentanyl Outbreak In Pennsylvania

Introduction

An attorney general of Pennsylvania provided a special report stating that fentanyl has been a dominant opioid drug in the state as more of it was seized in the first three months of 2022 compared to the entire last year.

The report even warned lawmakers to address the issue of an upsurge of fentanyl over heroin in recent years, which is a matter of concern.

As per a report, more than double the amount of fentanyl than heroin was seized by the Office of Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (BNI) in 2021. Approximately 40 times more fentanyl compared to heroin was seized in the first three months of 2022.

The AG informed that Fentanyl has rapidly replaced heroin as the dominant opioid in the state of Pennsylvania. It has eventually resulted in an upsurging the drug overdose death in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania reported that last year 15 Pennsylvanians lost their lives due to drug overdose. He even said that lawmakers and policy must take relevant measures to address and combat this crisis by using resources that will stop fentanyl from entering the state.

The report also identified that usage of fentanyl in the form of pills has contributed to the crisis. Fake pills, which are cheaper and resemble to be legitimate prescription pills, have added to the worries by fueling the addiction crisis.

As per the report provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division, more than 20 percent of the fentanyl outbreak included pills or tablets. The amount of the outbreak of fentanyl pills or tablet was five times higher in 2020 than in 2019.

In 2020, overdose deaths in Pennsylvania rose by 16.4 percent and continued to rise, amounting the number to 5,438 overdose deaths in 2021, with another 6 percent increase from the prior year.