The headlines across America are replete with it:
· CNBC - Drug overdose deaths among teenagers surged during the pandemic driven by illicit fentanyl - Mon, Dec. 19, 2022 …
· EDSOURCE - Seven Los Angeles teens have overdosed on likely fentanyl in last month, police say … – Sep 2022
· BBC - Fentanyl overdose: US teens fastest growing group to die – Oct. 2022
· LA Times - More teenagers dying from fentanyl. ‘It has a hold on me, and I don’t know why’ … Nov 2022
· Sacramento Bee - Teen died from fentanyl in school bathroom as mom begged staff to find her, CA suit says … Feb 14, 2023
The message is the same … Americans, including our teens, are dying from an OVERDOSE of the drug fentanyl … and right there is the problem with identifying the real problem. By calling this scourge an “OVERDOSE,” we are, in fact, saying that there is a “CORRECT DOSE.” Outside of its use under the supervision of a trained anesthesiologist in the surgical suite, there is no CORRECT DOSE of fentanyl.
We have all learned that the smallest amount of fentanyl, just 2 or 3 milligrams … that would be 0.002 – 0.003 grams and that would be equal to 0.00007 ounces … equals a lethal amount.
So, we can see that there is no acceptable “DOSE” … so, let’s stop calling it an “OVERDOSE” and start calling it what it is … a “POISONING.” Those who have been killed by this vile chemical have been POISONED, full stop!
This change, in calling it what it is, needs to start with the CDC. In their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) for December 2022, they tell us in part that: Median monthly overdose deaths among persons aged 10–19 years (adolescents) increased 109% from July–December 2019 to July–December 2021; deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl’s (IMFs) increased 182%. Approximately 90% of deaths involved opioids and 84% involved IMFs. Counterfeit pills were present in nearly 25% of deaths. Two thirds of decedents had one or more potential bystanders present, but most provided no overdose response.
Recognize that fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and when the CDC states that 90% of deaths involved opioids and 84% involved IMF’s (illicitly manufactured drugs), then they are also saying that only 6% of these deaths occur from heroin or oxycodone or other opioid based drugs and 84% from IMF’s --- government speak for fentanyl.
One other point should be considered in this discussion. Take note of the last line of the CDC’s report: Two thirds of decedents had one or more potential bystanders present, but most provided no overdose response. Here, they are addressing the availability and use of the drug NALOXONE sold under the brand name NARCAN.
This drug can be administered to a suspected poisoning victim in order to revive them from the effects of the fentanyl. A life saving tool to be sure, but like any other well-intentioned effort, it … i.e., Narcan … too, is being abused. Once it is known that Narcan is available and there is an opportunity to designate one individual as the “designated driver,” then it becomes far more likely that people will intentionally poison themselves with the knowledge that the “designated driver” will administer a life saving dose of Narcan and bring them back from the dead --- perhaps! Many school districts around the country have simply given up on the idea of preventing drugs from entering the school … instead opting to have lots of Narcan on hand to deal with the almost daily poisoning of students.
This drug, fentanyl, is an ongoing insidious war on Americans. It is killing more Americans than die on the battlefield and our federal government is completely impotent when it comes to stopping it. The chemicals are manufactured in China, mixed in Mexico, and distributed across all 50 states.
And while social media is quick to shutdown a sitting President of the United States because his words are hurtful to some … they have no such compulsion when it comes to dealers selling fentanyl laced pills through TikTok or other social media sites.
Every American needs to stop calling these deaths from fentanyl OVERDOSES and start calling them what they really are, which is the intentional POISONING of Americans. By calling this scourge what it truly is, then perhaps our government will start taking greater action to close the southern border – the main source of entry of this poison from Mexico. Perhaps they will force the Chinese to stop distributing the chemicals needed to make the poison. And maybe the government will see the sheer folly in trying to manage this scourge through “authorized government supervised drug sites” where the poison can be countered with Narcan because there is always a “designated driver” available.
This administration, the Biden Administration, has been working to bring about the destruction of the United States as we have known it – and they appear to be doing a real good job of it. At the forefront is the continuing spread of the intentional poisoning of America – Joe Biden’s America
.