The media tends to fixate on things they can manipulate, stories they can sell the public to keep up viewer ratings.
Unfortunately, these issues aren’t always the ones citizens should be focusing on.
There is one epidemic the United States is currently facing that has ripped apart more families than the current pandemic- and no one is hearing about it!
COVID-19 has been a dark cloud over this nation and around the world as many lives were tragically lost in its wake.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced there has been 53,000 COVID-19 deaths among individuals ages 19 to 49 between January 1, 2020 and December 15, 2021.
While these numbers are staggering and every death is tragic, there is another leading cause of death that hasn’t been widely talked about.
Fox News reports:
“Fentanyl overdoses have surged to the leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 45, according to an analysis of U.S. government data.”
In the same time frame as the reported COVID-19 deaths, nearly 79,000 people between the ages of 18 and 45 have died from fentanyl overdoses, according to data collected from the opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl.
What exactly is the deadly drug fentanyl?
It is a synthetic opioid that can take the life of a user in even the smallest doses, and the risk of death is amplified when it is mixed with other drugs such as heroin, meth, or marijuana.
Fentanyl is not primarily made in the United States but is smuggled in mainly from Mexico and China, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The opioid crisis has been an epidemic for many years, as Mommy Underground has previously reported, with common people getting caught in its icy grip like young mom Madelyn, leaving behind a confused and sad toddler.
James Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, said in a public statement:
“This is a national emergency. America’s young adults — thousands of unsuspecting Americans — are being poisoned. It is widely known that illicit fentanyl is driving the massive spike in drug-related deaths. A new approach to this catastrophe is needed.”
Rauh is motivated to find a solution to this devastating problem because he lost his own son to an overdose.
The epidemic is personal to so many people who have lost beloved family members.
Opioids are no longer only found in dark alleys and back rooms of shady clubs, the DEA has informed the public that there has been a surge of fake prescription pill sales on social media, notably Snapchat, Fox News reports.
Experts can’t help but think there is a correlation between the pandemic and fentanyl deaths, just as there is a seemingly related connection between suicides and the pandemic.
When the government orders people to suddenly halt all personal contact with loved ones and their support systems, you can only imagine the devastation it has on one’s mental health.
This thought stems from the fact that the CDC has reported that more adults between the ages of 18 and 45 have died from fentanyl overdoses in 2020 than not just COVID-19 deaths, but motor vehicle accidents, cancer, and suicide!
And 2021 was no better!
There were more than a 1,000 deaths reported a month in the first five months of 2021, according to the CDC data.
Projected deaths are expected to increase in the coming years despite the DEA confiscating a record number 11,000 pounds of fentanyl in 2021 alone.
The SUPPORT Act and the INTERDICT Act enacted by former President Trump was working on stopping the incoming flux of opioids and providing support for addicts to seek recovery.
Biden has been too busy with trying to control the American public through fear tactics centered around the coronavirus to be bothered with this debilitating tragedy to friends, co-workers, mothers, and sons.
Drug addiction is not something that can be corrected overnight, but it begins with recognizing there is a problem.
The fentanyl epidemic in the United States has to be made aware of by the general public with healthcare providers and government agencies working toward a helpful solution.
If you or somebody you know are suffering from an opioid addiction please seek help by calling the national helpline at 1-800-662-4357 or finding nearby treatment at FindTreatment.gov.