Fentanyl Policy

As Fentanyl overdoses plague much of the United States which killed 75 thousand Americans in
2022 the United States must do something to fix this issue. The hardest hit states are mostly in
the rust belt surrounding West Virgina. This was partially caused by the economic decline of this
region. Many people got addicted to prescription opioids from 2006-2013 and when this was
cracked down on, they turned to Heroin then Fentanyl. Once people started using Fentanyl
more often than not the drug overdose death rates spiked up since 2016. The Obama Administration, where once
you were vice president, did a great job tackling the opioid pandemic using the FBI and other
tools in its arsenal. I recommend using targeted adds in hard hit areas and with college students
about the risks of cross contamination with fentanyl in heroin, Adderall, Xanax, or other opioids.
Fentanyl contamination can impact many drugs and cause fatal overdoses. Targeted advertising
and educational programs can do much good in tackling the fentanyl overdose crises. These
adds should be targeted at those most likely to be bystanders and those at the highest risk for
overdosing. Another thing that would help is to develop better distribute treatments for drug
overdoses and more effectively treat addiction.
I got this information from the Washington Post, North Carolina’s Opioid treatment page and
prior knowledge.