What Does The Decline In Fentanyl Deaths Mean For Your Drug Case?

Fear has always been a key ingredient in the criminal process when it comes to drug cases. At trials, prosecutors play on jurors’ fears of how things might have gotten worse if police had not arrested the defendant and confiscated the drugs when they did? They say, “This bag of powder contained fentanyl. If it had ended up on the streets instead of in the crime lab, how many people would have died from a fentanyl overdose?” The drug whose name inspires the greatest fear has changed over time, but the tactics haven’t. First it was marijuana (nice work, Reefer Madness), then heroin, then crack cocaine, then oxycodone, and then fentanyl. That may be changing. First, there are other drugs out there that are even stronger than fentanyl, and some of them do not respond to naloxone, a drug that reverses the symptoms of opioid overdose. Second, a recent report shows that this past year has seen less fentanyl, and fewer fentanyl overdoses, than any other year in recent memory. If you are facing charges for possession of fentanyl, contact a West Palm Beach drug offenses lawyer.
How Much Should We Get Our Hopes Up About the Decrease in Fentanyl-Related Fatalities?
In November 2024, the Drug Enforcement Agency released its most recent annual report on statistics related to drug crimes. The new report offers a rare glimmer of hope about the fentanyl epidemic. First, it shows that the number of fatal overdoses on fentanyl in 2024 was more than 14 percent lower than the number of fentanyl overdoses in 2023. This is the biggest decrease in fentanyl overdoses on record.
Second, the report showed that fentanyl is becoming less prevalent in the drug supply. Last year, 70 percent of counterfeit prescription pills seized by the DEA tested positive for fentanyl, as has been the case for the past several years. This year, only 50 percent of counterfeit prescription pills contained fentanyl. The low price of fentanyl, relative to its high potency, has always been a main driver of its prevalence in the illegal drug supply. Fentanyl has become more expensive this year, and major drug busts and interception of counterfeit pills imported by mail have reduced the number of fentanyl pills available for sale on the street.
In other words, we can thank law enforcement operations for the reduction of the amount of fentanyl in the drug supply. We can also thank public health efforts, such as the widespread availability of naloxone and improved access to addiction treatment for the decrease in the number of fatal overdoses. Meanwhile, laws remain on the books that impose tough penalties for the possession of even minute quantities of fentanyl, even if you didn’t know which drugs were in the pills you bought. Therefore, it is important to hire a criminal defense lawyer if you get arrested for drug possession.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
dea.gov/press-releases/2024/11/15/deas-third-annual-national-family-summit-fentanyl-highlights-progress#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20CDC%2C%20the,potentially%20deadly%20dose%20of%20fentanyl