Skull made up of fentanyl pills
Fenanyl: A Decade of Death. (Illustration by Steve Breen/inewsource)

By Steve Breen with Iran Martinez, Giovanni Moujaes, and Jamie Self • inewsource

The image shows a hand emerging from a hole in the ground, which is covered in tiny blue pills. On a black background above, the text reads: A stealthy and efficient killer, fentanyl is increasingly finding its way into illicit drugs and into the United States. The high potency makes it ideal for smugglers–it takes up less space while yielding a huge profit. As a synthetic opioid, fentanyl is purely chemical and cheap to produce, not requiring land or good weather like cocaine or heroin. It’s driving U.S. overdose deaths and doing so indiscriminately, claiming both the addicted and the unsuspecting.

A stealthy and efficient killer, fentanyl is increasingly finding its way into illicit drugs and into the United States. The high potency makes it ideal for smugglers–it takes up less space while yielding a huge profit. As a synthetic opioid, fentanyl is purely chemical and cheap to produce, not requiring land or good weather like cocaine or heroin. It’s driving U.S. overdose deaths and doing so indiscriminately, claiming both the addicted and the unsuspecting.

Above an image of the San Diego skyline, a line graph shows how fentanyl-related overdose deaths have skyrocketed over the last two decades, far outpacing prescription opioids and heroin, also pictured.

U.S. fentanyl overdose deaths have skyrocketed. Though fentanyl killed slightly fewer people in 2023 than in the previous year, the drug still holds communities across the U.S., including San Diego, in a deadly grip.

Above an image of the San Diego skyline, a line graph shows how fentanyl-related overdose deaths have skyrocketed over the last two decades, far outpacing prescription opioids and heroin, also pictured.

Where is it coming from? 1.) Precursor chemicals, mostly from china, supply Mexican criminal groups. 2.) Cartels make fentanyl pills in clandestine labs. 3.) Pills are trafficked into the U.S. from Mexico. Migrants are not the problem; officials say the majority of fentanyl enters the U.S. through ports of entry like San Diego and Tucson. It’s smuggled in via cars, trucks and drug mules (often U.S. citizens). It’s a myth that migrants are sneaking in large quantities of fentanyl and meth.

Read the rest of the story at inewsource.org.