As the dangerous world of drug use becomes more common amongst teens, drug lacing and poisoning do as well. Recently, teens from across the country have been falling victim to fentanyl poisoning while using recreational and narcotic drugs. While drug use in the first place is dangerous, buying drugs for anything but medical purposes has become a game of roulette. Many impressionable teens are now at risk of being poisoned by the most lethal drug, fentanyl.

DEA.gov 

Many say that the biggest problem at hand is teens having access to drugs at all. Despite this being true, it has been proven that millions of teenagers manage to get their hands on all kinds of substances, no matter the restrictions. 

It is reported that by the time teenagers reach their senior year, 46.6% have used some variant of illicit drugs. From 2010 to 2021, adolescent drug overdose has increased 221%, with 77% of  cases being a result of fentanyl poisoning. 

Why? 

As drug use has become more apparent, many may ask themselves, why? Various surveys and articles report that teenagers are interested in drug use because their 

peers introduced substances to them. Furthermore, many teens say that once introduced to various substances, they rely on drugs as stress relievers and an escape from their school or home life. What most teens don’t understand are the dangers of lacing, and just how prevalent it is today. As for drug dealers, most use fentanyl as a lace because it is cheap, and highly addictive in extremely small quantities. 

How? 

A rise in fentanyl lacing in recent years is a product of southern U.S. borders opening. During the 2020 pandemic, U.S. borders closed for twenty months. After borders reopened, a massive increase of fentanyl was recorded. Transnational drug organizations are mainly based in Mexico, as well as Central America, and have been smuggled into the states. As more fentanyl enters the country, more people are being dealt laced drugs. DEA.gov states that 60% of laced fake prescription pills contain lethal doses of fentanyl.

Where? 

Fentanyl can be found in various narcotics, “prescription” pills, and recreational drugs like marijuana. In addition to this one in seven teens use some form of marijuana, and the government has done next to nothing to prevent teens from getting their hands on drugs.

In recent years the Biden administration presented a national drug control strategy, but no laws or regulations have since been passed or presented. Furthermore, news sites, responsible for informing the public, have ignored the story. In turn, the news of drug lacing and poisoning is now swept under the rug, putting American youth at risk; with that being said, it is important that people are aware of the fatal risks of drug use. Spreading awareness could save a life.