Created 5/2021
Updated 10/23
Essential Question:
Why is it important to be aware of the risks of drugs being manufactured with fentanyl and other substances?
How is fentanyl making the opioid epidemic worse?
Lethal Dose of Fentanyl
What does the data on the map show?
Click on the link below to display the interactive map:
Inside America’s Devastating Opioid Epidemic
Given what we see on the map, how do you think we got to the point where opioid abuse is an epidemic?
True or False?
The current opioid crisis is being called by many the worst drug overdose epidemic in American history.
True
“The majority of preventable drug overdose deaths (77%) involve opioids, totaling 75,785 in 2020. Opioid drugs include both prescription and illicit drug categories. The drug category most frequently involved in preventable opioid overdoses and growing at the fastest pace is “synthetic opioids other than methadone.” This category includes fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol. The fentanyl category of opioids accounted for 67,325 preventable deaths in 2021, representing a 26% increase over the 53,480 total in 2020.” - National Safety Council
True or False?
The number of medications prescribed in the United States has decreased since the early 2000s.
False
”The number of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. has increased between 2009 and 2022. In 2009 the number of prescriptions dispensed was near 3.95 billion, while in 2022 the number of prescriptions dispensed was around 6.7 billion. The increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed has a multifactorial origin that includes health care sources, health insurance, and prescription drug benefits. However, the increase in prescription drug usage comes with a price tag as the price of drugs in the U.S. is also on the rise.The U.S. has some of the highest per capita drug spending in the world. Estimated U.S. prescribed drug expenditures amounted to 378 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2021.” - Statista
True or False?
In 2022, less than 100,000 people died in the United States from opioids.
False
“There were 111,355 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending April 2023, compared with 110,394 deaths in the 12-month period ending March 2022. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are involved in nearly 70% of the overdose deaths, according to the provisional data from the CDC. Increases in overdoses involving these drugs accounted for the vast majority of the overall increase in deaths.” - CNN
True or False?
Drug overdoses cause more deaths than car accidents in the U.S.
True
“In 2017, for the first time in U.S. history, a person was more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than from a motor vehicle crash, according to National Safety Council analysis. The odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose have risen even more sharply, climbing to 1 in 67 in 2020 (from 1 in 96 in 2017), eclipsing the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash (1 in 101).” - National Safety Council
True or False?
Deaths from heroin alone have surpassed gun homicides in the United States.
True
“Drug overdoses claimed more American lives than did vehicle crashes or firearm-related incidents, combined, in 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there were 45,404 motor vehicle traffic deaths and 48,830 firearm deaths in 2021, 106,699 Americans died from drug overdoses or poisonings.” - Get Smart About Drugs
Click on the link above to watch Cal’s Story. What can we learn from his story?
Click on the link above to watch a message from Cal’s brother Miles. How does this message relate back to today’s Essential Question:
Why is it important to be aware of the risks of drugs being manufactured with fentanyl and other substances?
What do you think should be done to raise awareness about the dangers of Fentapills in our community?
Helpful Resources:
Thank You!