The administration of NY announced this Thursday that a “summit” will be held next week to find a solution to the crisis Fentanyl in the United States where this powerful opioid causes overdose deaths to increase dramatically in recent years.
According to a statement, the forum will last two days – the date has not been determined – and will include “elected officials, public health officials and law enforcement professionals from around the country” to discuss strategies with the “goal of developing a national strategy to combat the scourge of fentanyl.
The authorities of NY They reported this week that in 2022 more than 3,000 people will die from overdoses in the city, a record since the data was collected and an increase of 12% compared to the previous year; In 81% of these deaths there is the presence of fentanyl.
There has been recent unrest in the Big Apple over the death of one child and the intoxication of three others from exposure to fentanyl at a Bronx daycare center, where police found a stash of drugs and paraphernalia under the playground in an obvious. undercover drug trafficking operation.
This drug, which can be up to 100 times stronger than morphine, is commonly used to treat severe pain, but criminal organizations also manufacture and distribute it illegally, mixed with other substances or misrepresented as heroin, cocaine or pharmaceuticals.
According to the latest data, almost 110,000 overdose deaths were recorded across the United States in 2022, 0.5% more than in 2021 – which represents a stabilization after increases of 17% and 30% in the previous years – and Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were found in 75,000 of the cases.
The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, noted in the statement the need to “develop a national framework to prevent fatal overdoses” and indicated that the gathering will focus on strategies of “education, law enforcement, awareness , prevention and treatment ».
The note includes the support of the administrations of New Orleans (Louisiana), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Laredo (Texas) and Los Angeles (California) for the forum, as well as those responsible for health, security and the New York Police.
