‘Mass Overdoses’ Caused by Inadvertent Fentanyl Use: DEA

According to a memo from Drug Enforcement Administration  (DEA) chief Anne Milgram, there have been at least seven confirmed mass overdose events in the United States, resulting in 58 overdoses and 29 overdose deaths. 

“Many of the victims of these mass overdose events thought they were ingesting cocaine and had no idea that they were in fact ingesting fentanyl,” the memo notes, highlighting the fact that consumers are not seeking out the deadly drug.

The memo, sent to local, state and federal law enforcement partners, cites recent mass overdose events, including one that took place in Florida on March 10. Six people on spring break overdosed at a rental property after being exposed to a substance they believed was cocaine, but instead contained fentanyl.

Local 10 News reported that after officers administered CPR on some of the individuals in cardiac arrest from the overdose, two officers became ill and also had to go to the hospital because the fentanyl was so potent.

Less than a week earlier, on March 4, 21 individuals overdosed — 3 of whom died — at a homeless shelter in downtown Austin Texas, after ingesting crack-cocaine and methamphetamine laced with fentanyl. 

Back in January on the 28th, 10 individuals overdosed — 9 of which died — all on the same city block in Washington D.C. after ingesting crack-cocaine laced with fentanyl. 

“It was sirens all day long, all night,” a 68-year-old Washington D.C. female resident told Washington Post reporters when she heard about the overdoses in January. “This is usually a heroin area. Heroin doesn’t bring all that noise. This was something different.”

See Also: Opioid Overdose Deaths Now Disproportionately Plague Black Population

Fentanyl: A Deadly Health Crisis

Dr. Debra Houry, the Acting Deputy Director of the CDC, and Milgram both spoke with reporters at ABC news to discuss the growing health crisis. 

Milgram shared that just her administration’s federal law enforcement agency in 2021 has seized more than 20 million fake pills.

“We’ve now seized enough fentanyl to be a deadly dose for every single American,” Milgram said. 

“That is an unprecedented amount — we’ve never seized as much,” Milgram added. “The bottom line is that fentanyl, it is the deadliest drug we are seeing out there in the United States right now.” 

She continued on ABC News that what makes the illicit fentanyl so deadly is that it’s widely available — the DEA is seizing it in all 50 states — and that only the tiniest of quantities are needed in order to make a dose fatal. 

Houry shared that the CDC estimates that in the 12-month period ending in October 2021, over 105,000 Americans lost their life due to drug overdoses — and over 66 percent of those deaths were related to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

The two further discussed on ABC News that it’s not just teenagers who are purchasing the pills on the darknet.

In their note to law enforcement agencies around the country, they urge officers to contact the DEA if they suspect a fentanyl mass-overdose event occurred in their area, and the DEA will assist with the investigation by providing lab resources, and will also help to warn the public about the lethal drug threat. 

Additional Reading: Opioid Probe on Darknet Yields 180 Arrests, $6.5M Seized