The seizure by narcotics police in Myanmar of a large quantity of liquid fentanyl is cause for alarm, as it provides evidence this region of Southeast Asia is ramping up production and global distribution of the dangerous synthetic opioid. Fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and is largely responsible for a surge in overdose deaths across the United States, with substance users switching to the drug or mixing it with prescription painkillers or other substances.
Fentanyl is easier to make and smuggle than heroin, and is far more profitable than other opioids—as well as deadlier. Meanwhile, travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the corona virus pandemic are disrupting the flow of illicit drugs to the U.S., thereby increasing the potential for overdose as users adapt to shifting supply. Experts say the availability and prices of illegal drugs are changing in different areas of the country, creating a patchwork of new overdose risk as dealers lack supply and users can’t get money to buy what they need.
And finally, The Atavist publishes a remarkable story about a mother who dedicates her life to advocating for harm reduction programs following her son’s overdose death. The twist in the story is that the woman’s late husband was the inventor of nalaxone—the widely used overdose reversal drug that is now part of the standard emergency toolkit to save lives.