Is Fentanyl Finally Loosening Its Grip On Florida?

If you need evidence that times change, think about the things that people feared a generation ago, or even more.  In the 1980s, schools received a windfall of funding to ensure that children were terrified of crack cocaine; in those days, HIV was the deadliest disease one could imagine, even though the stereotypes about how one could or could not be exposed to it turned out to be difficult to dispel.  In the 1940s, adults were terrified that, if their children went to public swimming pools, they would get infected with polio and have to use a wheelchair, or worse, an iron lung, for the rest of their lives.  Today, polio infections are vanishingly rare, and HIV-positive people who have consistent access to healthcare have the same life expectancy as HIV-negative people.  For much of the past decade, fentanyl has proven itself worthy of being our worst fear; it has caused more fatal overdoses than any other drug.  The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently published a report that hints at changing the narrative on fentanyl, but change is gradual.  Fentanyl is still in the illegal drug supply, and the penalties for possession of it are still harsh.  If you are facing criminal charges for possession of fentanyl, contact a Tampa drug crime lawyer.

The DEA’s New Report Offers Encouraging News About Fentanyl

Every year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) publishes a report on drug statistics, and this year’s report offers a rare glimmer of hope about fentanyl.  The most recent report is based on data collected between June 2023 and June 2024.  This reporting period saw fentanyl overdose deaths decrease by 14 percent, compared to the year before it.  This is the sharpest single-year drop in fentanyl-related deaths since fentanyl first flashed on the DEA’s radar screen.

The even more encouraging news is that there appears to be less fentanyl in the illegal drug supply in previous years.  Fentanyl is a common ingredient in counterfeit prescription pills because of its low price.  It is nearly as prevalent in pills that claim to be Xanax, Adderall, and other non-opioid drugs as it is in counterfeit opioid painkiller pills.  In the current reporting period, only half of the counterfeit prescription pills that the DEA seized and tested turned out to contain fentanyl.  In the previous year and the years before it, about 70 percent of counterfeit prescription pills contained fentanyl.  This could be due to an increase in the price of fentanyl, making it less cost effective for illegal drug manufacturers.  It could also be due to successful efforts by law enforcement to intercept shipments of fentanyl before they reached drug dealers.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for drug possession, and the drugs tested positive for fentanyl in the crime lab, whether you thought you were buying fentanyl or not.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Source:

dea.gov/press-releases/2024/11/15/deas-third-annual-national-family-summit-fentanyl-highlights-progress#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20CDC%2C%20the,potentially%20deadly%20dose%20of%20fentanyl