The number of teen overdose deaths in the U.S. doubled between 2019 and 2021 — even as illicit drug use declined — as fentanyl sparked a nationwide crisis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today that overdoses among teenagers have increased by 109 percent in the past two years. Deaths caused by fentanyl alone increased by 182 percent.
Officials warn that many American teenagers die after taking fentanyl-tainted drugs such as cocaine, Adderall or Xanax. They also warn that social media platforms have become a new marketplace for illegal drugs.
The nation’s drug crisis has hit everyone, with a record 107,622 Americans dying of drug overdoses last year. More than 70 percent of deaths were caused by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
The number of American teenagers who died from drug overdoses skyrocketed from 2019 to 2021. In the two years, there were 2,231 overdose deaths, including 1,871 from fentanyl. In the first month of the study, July 2019, 31 overdoses were recorded in teenagers. The number peaked in May 2021, with 87 deaths, and 51 were recorded in December 2021, the last month of the study.
DEA warns teens are using emoji as code to buy illegal drugs. These include a pill that represents Percocet, Adderall, and MDMA, plant emojis that represent marijuana, and snow that represents cocaine. The agency warns that many illegal drugs are contaminated with lethal levels of fentanyl
The number of teenagers with fentanyl overdose (gray line) has tripled since the start of the Covid pandemic (dotted line between 2019 and 2020). Scientists say it may be related to the synthetic opioid being mixed with other drugs such as cocaine and heroin
For the report, CDC officials collected drug overdose data from 32 states between July 2019 and December 2021. These states account for more than 75 percent of drug overdose deaths.
Over the entire period, 2,231 teenage overdose deaths were recorded. Just over 83 percent, for a total of 1,871, were caused by illegal fentanyl.
The CDC warns that these overdoses are almost always accidental. Teens buy fake pills and drugs laced with the synthetic opioid.
More than two-thirds of fentanyl-related deaths, 1,313, occurred when a person ingested a non-opioid drug contaminated with it.
Across all states included, 31 teen overdose deaths were recorded in July 2019. That number peaked at 87 in May 2021 before falling to 51 in December.
From July 2019 to December 2021, a 64 percent increase in deaths was recorded. There was a 180 percent difference between the starting month and the peak in May.
These teenagers often overdosed at home and usually in cases where a bystander was present.
This data is exposed as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warns that social media platforms are becoming marketplaces for these dangerous drugs.
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco told CBS, “We’re no longer talking about meeting on the street and making that connection … the trafficker is in your child’s pocket with the phone.”
Fentanyl is single-handedly fueling the US drug crisis. It’s used as a powerful adultery, with drug dealers plying everything from cocaine, Xanax and Percocet.
A record 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, a new record and a 15 percent increase from the previous year.
Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl accounted for more than 70 percent of these deaths.
In 2021, more Americans have died from a fentanyl overdose than the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam combined.
There is particularly strong growth among young people. According to a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, 884 teenagers in the US will die from fentanyl in 2021.
This is a 30 percent increase from 680 registrations in 2020 and a 250 percent increase from 253 registrations in 2019.
This comes even as teen drug use is stagnant in the US. The National Institute on Drug Abuse today released new data showing that 41 percent of American teenagers will have used an illegal drug by 2022.
This number is the same as the 2021 total and is down from the 46 percent recorded in 2020.
Instantly, Florida police officer nearly dies from “fentanyl exposure” after traffic stop
Bannick is lying on the floor struggling to breathe after being exposed to fentanyl
Affected footage shows Officer Courtney Bannick falling limp to the ground after allegedly touching the drugs in a dollar bill.
Marijuana is by far the most popular, with 38 percent of teens reporting that they use it. Just over 13 percent of teens used an illegal drug this year that wasn’t marijuana.
The most popular other drugs were hallucinogens, including LSD, psilocybin, and DMT.
However, contaminated drugs are becoming more common, leading to an increase in deaths.
CDC researchers wrote in their report: “The widespread availability of illegally manufactured fentanyls (IMFs), the proliferation of counterfeit pills that look like prescription drugs but contain IMFs or other illegal substances, and the convenience of buying pills through social media, increases the risk of death from drug overdose in adolescents.”
The DEA also released a guide for parents, educators and other authority figures to recognize when teenagers may be buying drugs.
It shows how emojis are used as code to buy drugs.
The pill emoji can be used to represent Percocet, Oxycodone, Xanax, Adderall, or MDMA.
Meanwhile, snow emojis, a figure eight and diamonds can indicate that a teenager is buying cocaine.
Source link
Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
