FENTANYL&THEDRUGOVERDOSE EPIDEMICININDIANCOUNTRY
Overview of the Drug Overdose Epidemic
Drug overdoses are leading cause of injury-related death in the U S
There is such a high number of overdoses, the CDC has labeled it an EPIDEMIC.
Native Communities are being effected by this epidemic more than other communities.
The number of deaths from drug overdose is continuing to rise
39%
In2020,thenumberofdrug overdosedeathsincreased39%for AmericanIndian/AlaskaNative (AI/AN)people
152%
InOklahoma,136peoplediedfrom fentanyl-relatedoverdosedeaths Thiswasanalmost152%increase from2019
36/10,000
Thirty-sixper10,000American Indian/AlaskaNative(AI/AN) peoplediedfromafataloverdose.
2TIMES
OverdosedeathratesforAI/AN women25–44yearsofagewere nearlytwotimesthatofWhite women25–44yearsofage
Fentanylisanextremelypotentopioid A2-milligramdoseoffentanylis enoughtokillmostpeople
Fentanylis50timesstrongerthanHeroin
Prescriptionfentanylisprescribedtohelppatientswithchronicseverepain (e.g.paincausedbyadvanced-stagecancer)andseverepainfollowingsurgery.
WHATISIMF?
Illicitlymanufacturedfentanyl(IMF)isbecomingmoreandmoreprevalentin streetdrugs IMFismadeinillegaldruglabs Itiscommonlymixedintodrugs likeheroin,cocaine,pot,andmethamphetamineinordertomakethedrugs cheaperandmorepotent
PeoplebuyingdrugsmaybeunawarethatIMFispresentintheirdrugs However,eveniftheyknewitwaslacedwithIMF,laboratorytestingwould berequiredtofindoutifalethaldosewaspresent
TheprevalenceofIMFisincreasing,asillustratedbythe followingfacts:
40%
In2020,acrossthecountry,more peoplediedfromfentanylrelatedoverdosesthangunrelatedandauto-relateddeaths combined
Illicitlymanufacturedfentanyl (IMF)isamajorcontributorto thedrugoverdoseepidemic IMFwasingestedinaround 40%offataloverdosesin2020
4outof10pillstested bytheDEAcontainIMF
SPTHBRESOURCES
EmailCaseyWard-Freemanatcward-freeman@spthb.orgtolearnhowto getfreeNaloxone(Narcan),drugtestingkits,andotherresourcesthat helppreventdeathfromoverdose
Forhelpaccessingdruguseandoverdosedatathatisspecifictoyour community,visit:https://spthb.org/resources/technical-assistance/
Tolearnmoreaboutfentanyl,overdoses,andotherdrugsvisit: https://spthb.org/resources/publications/
