The illegal trade in fentanyl wreaks serious havoc on both sides of the US-Mexico border. In our country, there are signs of an increase in its consumption, while the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) remain the main traffickers of synthetic opioid; While overdose deaths in the US are on an upward trend, a recent InSight Crime analysis shows.
The report entitled “Impact of illicit fentanyl is felt on both sides of the US-Mexico border. UU ”, by Parker Asmann and Alejandra Rodríguez, points out that in the United States, overdose deaths, mainly due to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, have increased exponentially. During 2020, overdose deaths in the United States totaled 93,331 cases, a record so far.
The massive production of these substances has also had notable secondary effects on drug use in Mexico. In 2020, our country accounted for a total of 1,735 deaths from overdoses, according to data published this year by the National Commission against Addictions (Conadic), of the Ministry of Health
The report warns that the number of overdose deaths in Mexico may not reflect reality, due to the forensic crisis in the country, although these deaths are still far from the record of deaths reported in the United States.
Consumption risk
The article adds that drug users in Mexico are increasingly exposed to fentanyl. A study conducted on drug use, with data from 1,000 public and private addiction treatment centers in our country, found that the number of people who had used fentanyl increased from 24 between 2013 and 2018 to 98 between 2019 and 2020.
It was highlighted that, although most of the fentanyl crosses the border, this substance has entered the heroin supply chain in border cities such as Tijuana, a phenomenon similar to that registered in some US cities.
The article cites a report from Conadic, where the consumption patterns of fentanyl and other substances were analyzed among 254 participants from Baja California, Chihuahua and Sonora and where it was discovered that many consumers “did not know that (what they were consuming) it was fentanyl ”.
According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, fentanyl is a strong synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but between 50 and 100 times more potent, which in medicine is used to treat severe pain in patients.
Fentanyl, as well as other synthetic opioids, are frequently mixed with other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA; that can cause extreme happiness, lethargy, nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, tolerance, addiction, respiratory depression or respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness, coma and death.
People addicted to fentanyl who stop consuming it can experience symptoms such as pain in muscles and bones, problems sleeping, diarrhea and vomiting, chills and uncontrollable movements of the legs, among others, according to the US institute.
Seizures
Fentanyl seizures have also been on the rise in both Mexico and the US.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned of the risks for users of pills mixed with lethal doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine and marketed by retailers as prescription pain relievers, such as oxycodone (Oxycontin).
Between January and September, the DEA seized more than 9.5 million adulterated pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine. Seizures since 2019 show an increase of close to 430 percent.
In Mexico, the Army has seized 1,225 kilos of fentanyl, from January to September 21; 16.5% more than in the same period of 2020.
The Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG have gained a dominant position in the production of synthetic drugs in Mexico, since they control the ports that serve as key points for the importation of chemical precursors from India and China, and from European countries, such as Spain.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx