Fentanyl

Fentanyl is "a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely-produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico." It is currently in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that while highly addictive, dangerous and restricted, it is recognized as medically useful for the treatment of pain in extreme cases.

The fentanyl crisis in the U.S. is the direct result of the Democrats' open border policies that seek future new votes from illegal aliens. Overall life expectancy of Americans declined in 2021 in part because of a sharp increase in fentanyl deaths.

By late 2022, there are increasing reports of cannabis products being laced with deadly fentanyl.

In Canada, law enforcement officers carry a drug that acts as an antidote to fentanyl, as even skin exposure to the powder can be lethal.

Biggest issue in 2022 Midterm Elections

Fentanyl became perhaps the biggest issue in key races in the 2022 midterm elections, such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Ohio, and New York. For example, a political ad in the final weeks of the Senate race in Pennsylvania declared:

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John Fetterman supports decriminalizing dangerous drugs like fentanyl and heroin. And Fetterman supports creating heroin injection sites in our neighborhoods.

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Illegal Uses

Illegal fentanyl pours over the southern open border and causes more than 50,000 deaths annually in the United States. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is being criticized for this by his opponent Blake Masters in the 2022 midterm elections.

China is the primary exporter of fentanyl and its precursors that then go through Mexican drug cartels to be distributed across the southern border into the United States.

Overdoses

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Preventable drug overdose deaths increased 34.4% in 2020, from 62,172 in 2019. In 2020, 83,558 people died from preventable drug overdoses – an increase of 649% since 1999. These deaths represent 91% of the total 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the United States, which also include suicide, homicide, and undetermined intents.

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Medicinal Uses

Fentanyl is usually an opiate of last resort, used when a patient is highly tolerant to most other opiates including morphine. When used in accordance with a doctor's orders and properly prescribed, it can be safe for patients recovering from extreme pain, or in cases of terminal cancer.