Experts say much of this increase could be explained by the growing prevalence of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. Reporter Erin McCormick was researching how the drug became so popular in the United States and how its rise was rewriting the narrative of the opioid crisis in America.
According to a Guardian analysis of federal data from 2020, people under the age of 24 have been particularly hard hit by this latest wave of overdoses. In this age group, accidental drug-related deaths increased by 50% in a single year – taking the lives of 7,337 young people by 2020. One mother who has experienced this crisis first-hand is Perla Mendoza. She tells Michael Safi how her 20-year-old son, Daniel, overdosed on fentanyl after being sold fake Xanax pills by a Snapchat dealer.
Photo: Patrick T Fallon / AFP / Getty Images
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