WorldBBCA wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisis
A BBC report from Ohio shows how cheap synthetic opioids like fentanyl, now cut with other chemicals, are driving a deadly drug crisis across the US.
BBC News hears from users, dealers, prison and recovery workers as the country battles with a deadly new drug epidemic.
BBC journalists spent time in Columbus, Ohio, documenting how synthetic opioids like fentanyl are fuelling a worsening drug crisis across the United States.
Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin and is increasingly cut with synthetic tranquillisers, making overdoses harder to reverse even with Narcan.
Overdose deaths peaked at 110,000 Americans in 2022 and have fallen to around 70,000, but experts say the crisis is far from over as new synthetic cocktails emerge.
Naloxone (Narcan) nasal spray can reverse opioid overdoses and is worth knowing about if you work in health, community services or have someone in your life struggling with addiction.
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