84% of the 1,071 deaths from poisoning between January 1, 2022 and September 15, 2023 in Puerto Ricothey had the presence of fentalinoaccording to data from the Institute of Forensic Sciences.
This was reported this Friday by the Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado, when announcing the availability of more than US$ 15 million to mitigate the situation of opioids on the island.
Mellado mentioned that these funds can be used for a period of three years, valid until June 30, 2027.
“These funds are intended for initiatives, institutions, for-profit and non-profit organizations, entities and agencies, among others, that address the issue of opioids on the island”, Mellado indicated in a press release.
Mellado explained that, during the year 2023, the Advisory Committee of the Opioid Recovery and Restitution Fund, supported by the Opioid and Health Substances Program, worked with the need and x-ray study where strategies and tools were developed to understand the problem. of substance use.
In USAthe proportion of deaths from fentanyl overdose combined with stimulants increased more than 50 times between 2010 and 2021, going from 0.6% of deaths to 32.3%, according to research published in the journal Addiction.
The deaths due to this mixture during the so-called “fourth wave” of the crisis due to opioid overdose They jumped in that period from 235 to 34,429.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. This synthetic drug It was developed more than 50 years ago.
There are two kinds of fentanylas reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On the one hand, there is pharmaceutical fentanyl, prescribed by doctors to treat intense pain in cases such as post-operative or anti-inflammatory treatments. canceron the other hand, illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF), which is distributed in the markets of illegal drugs.
Illegal fentanyl can be found in liquid and powder form. Powdered fentanyl looks like many other drugs in this format, like the cocaine or heroin, and is often mixed with them. It can also be given in pill form.
As for the liquid fentanylthis can be found as a nasal spray, as eye drops or in candy format.
Source: Gestion
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