DAY 1: THE OVERDOSE CRISIS
Drug overdose is a public health crisis. It demands a public health response.
Our neighbors, friends, and family are disappearing from our lives.
Last year, we set a heartbreaking new record when we lost more than 1,799 Coloradans to drug overdose, and more than 109,680 people nationwide. That’s one precious life lost every five minutes.
It doesn’t need to be like this. Overdose is preventable.
WATCH: Lisa Raville, Executive Director of Harm Reduction Action Center talks about overdose at TEDx.
Illicit fentanyl is driving the overdose crisis.
Overdose deaths have skyrocketed due to the widespread availability of fentanyl on the black market:
Two-thirds of all overdoses that occurred in 2022 were caused by illicit fentanyl—more than double the number caused by methamphetamine and more than triple the number caused by cocaine.
What is fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a strong synthetic opioid that has been used in clinical settings for decades and is often described as 80-100 times stronger than morphine, or about 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is partly responsible for the current overdose crisis in the U.S., combined with a lack of resources and the criminalization of people who use drugs.
Fentanyl on the street market comes in the form of a white, gray or tan powder and can be injected, smoked, or snorted. It has also been found in other drugs, like heroin, meth, cocaine, and pressed pills.
Illicit fentanyl in Colorado
Here in Colorado, illicit fentanyl is present in almost all street drugs—anything from counterfeit Xanax and Percocet, to cocaine, methamphetamine, to heroin.
“What lawmakers do not understand is that fentanyl is ubiquitous & that people often don't KNOW they have it. I haven't seen a urine toxicology report without fentanyl in years.”
Dr. Josh Barocas, CU School of Medicine Associate Professor, UCHealth infectious-disease specialist and addiction researcher
Illicit fentanyl and overdose deaths
Fentanyl’s high potency allows manufacturers to produce smaller quantities but maintain the drug effects buyers expect. But if cut incorrectly, or if the end user isn’t aware that the drug they bought has been laced with illicit fentanyl, or their tolerance has changed, it can easily lead to an overdose.
Some people seek out fentanyl intentionally, while others have no idea the drug they are taking has been adulterated with it. But no matter how someone ingests fentanyl, no one deserves to die.
Is there a difference between medical fentanyl and illicit fentanyl?
Chemically, they are the same compound, but there are important differences.
Medical fentanyl
✔ Made in a regulated laboratory with oversight
✔ Packaged with accurate labeling regarding its strength
✔ Prescribed by doctors who know what they are getting and can prescribe a dose for an intended therapeutic effect (safe supply)
✔ Used for sedation and pain relief before and after surgery
✔ Used by chronic pain and cancer patients for pain relief (via a duragesic patch where fentanyl is absorbed over hours with special ingredients that promote absorption)
Illicit fentanyl
✘ Made with no oversight, is not labeled
✘ People do not know what/how much they are getting
✘ May be mixed in with other drugs, or presented as a different drug entirely, without people realizing it
MYTHBUSTER:
You cannot overdose simply by touching fentanyl. It must be introduced into the bloodstream or mucus membrane for someone to feel the effects.
Criminalizing fentanyl does not reduce production, use, or overdose deaths.
Instead, criminalization creates perverse incentives for manufacturers to continue manufacturing illicit opioids. Underground chemists have found new ways of evading enhanced penalties by modifying the structure of a substance to create something that is similar to fentanyl, yet chemically distinct. This has led to more potent forms of fentanyl that are even more likely to cause overdose deaths.
Criminalization of fentanyl also drives people who use drugs away from health services and encourages them to engage in riskier drug-taking activity (such as using alone) to avoid detection and prosecution.
What does data show will work to reduce production, use, and death?
✔ Widespread fentanyl and overdose education programs
✔ Widespread access to naloxone and drug testing strips
✔ Treatment on demand, at low or no cost
✔ Overdose Prevention Centers
✔ Safe supply
✔ Safe use sites and safe supply
✔ Opposing laws that criminalize drug use
✔ Challenging the stigma surrounding drug use
Take action today
Share this page with a friend or on social media to help raise awareness about the overdose crisis.
Follow Bring Our Neighbors Home and Harm Reduction Action Center on Twitter for easy actions you can take this week to advocate for policies that prevent overdoses and save lives.
We’ll help you contact policymakers to advocate for public health centered and data-driven solutions to the overdose crisis.