How Fentanyl Made the US Opioid Epidemic So Much Worse

The rise of fentanyl, an anesthetic turned street drug, has brought on the most dangerous phase yet in the decades-long US opioid epidemic, driving record rates of fatal overdoses even higher. Fentanyl is claiming the lives not just of people with an opiate addiction but also users of cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs to which it’s added. Its consumption spiraled upward during the Covid-19 pandemic. And the threat keeps evolving: Dealers have begun mixing fentanyl with xylazine, a cheap animal tranquilizer that poses its own health risks.

It’s a synthetic form of painkilling opioids like morphine. Originally developed to meet a need for stronger painkillers and used in hospitals for surgeries, fentanyl is now a cheap and abundant ingredient in the illegal drug trade. It’s often used to strengthen or stretch stockpiles of other illicit drugs, or make counterfeit versions of other frequently abused prescription drugs such as Adderall.