Fentanyl is a drug designed to treat pain, but prescribed users are abusing it on a massive scale. In general, the misuse of prescription drugs has caused a nationwide opioid epidemic that is only getting worse and not better. Every U.S. state has reports of increased rates of overdose deaths. In 2021, the epidemic seemed to reach its peak, but medical providers are preparing for another bad year in 2022.
What Fentanyl is
Fentanyl is an opioid prescription drug that is used to treat severe pain and is more than 50 times more potent than morphine. It causes a severe addiction after long-term use and may cause serious or potentially fatal interactions with alcohol. People who are pregnant or have underlying medical conditions are advised to contact a doctor before taking.
The opioid epidemic in 2021
The opioid epidemic began in the United States in the 1990s and has rapidly increased since 2010. Both natural and synthetic forms of opioids are prescribed to clients, and this legal status has contributed to the increased rates of drug misuse, overdoses, and accidental or intentional deaths.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2021, the rates of overdose deaths skyrocketed to 100,000 deaths per year. This number has increased by 28.5% since 2020. Deaths caused by overdoses are mainly linked to the use of opioids like fentanyl and stimulants like methamphetamine.
Steps for providers
Physicians are encouraged to be aware of the signs of drug use in their regular patients. They are given guidelines on treating the symptoms of drug abuse, reducing mortality rates, and improving their patients’ overall health. Doctors are told to prescribe medications that treat substance use disorders and refer more patients to harm reduction services.
The future of drug use
The misuse of natural and synthetic drugs has caused overdose deaths to soar in 2021. Most experts blame this spike on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, personal financial problems, and mental illness. They claim that the pandemic has worsened the opioid epidemic, leading to tens of thousands more suicides and accidental overdoses. Drug enforcement officers, public health agencies, and medical providers expect this trend to worsen as the number of overdoses increases.