Fentanyl causes one in five deaths in young Californians

One in five Californian youngsters dies due to an overdose of fentanyl. As reported by the Guardian, one in five youngsters aged between 15-24 die due to an overdose of fentanyl.

The data reveals a shocking number of drug overdose cases

As per data presented by the consulting group California Health Policy Strategies, drug overdoses now kill two to three times as many people in the region as car accidents. Since 2017, deaths related to synthetic opioid, which is 50 times stronger than heroin, have increased by 1,027%.

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As reported by the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) which collects information on deaths involving drugs under the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US, the overall drug overdose deaths rose from 2019 to 2021.

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As per reports of the NCHS, more than 1,06,000 people in the US have died from a drug-involved overdose in 2021 alone. Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (primarily fentanyl) continued to rise with 70,601 overdose deaths reported in 2021. Those involving stimulants, including cocaine or psychostimulants with abuse potential (primarily methamphetamine), also continued to increase with 32,537 overdose deaths in 2021.

Additional spending by the government for an overdose medication

The recent statistics of deaths due to drug overdose has sent the government into a frenzy state, with the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, proposing an additional $172 million USD for a project distributing Naloxone - an overdose medication.

San Francisco hits the ground hard!

San Francisco has been hit particularly hard, with nearly one person dying of an accidental overdose every 10 hours. The city has seen an increase in cases of overdose, with around 200 reported cases of overdose in the first three months of 2023 as compared to 142 during the same period last year.

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Authorities search for a solution

This year, the San Franciscan government closed a key outreach center, where people were using drugs with medical supervision, and increased policing in the city’s Tenderloin district – a region that struggles with drug use.

California lawmakers on Wednesday, May 24 held the first hearing with a new committee formed to help alleviate the fentanyl crisis in the region.
At the state level, Newsom has put around $ 1 billion USD toward efforts to alleviate the crisis. Lawmakers too, have sought to make overdose medication (Naloxone) widely available across the state.

(with inputs from agencies)

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