Opinion: The fentanyl seized in San Diego last year was enough to kill 1.4 billion people

Desmond is San Diego County supervisor for District 5 and lives in Oceanside.

If something has the potential to kill 1.4 billion people, we’d call it a weapon, a very big weapon. The weapon’s name is fentanyl. It is killing San Diegans at an alarming rate and is a huge public health crisis.

Last year, the San Diego regional office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported seizing 6,354 pounds of fentanyl. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates it only takes 2 milligrams of fentanyl to kill an adult. The amount of fentanyl seized last year is enough to kill 1.4 billion people, on the low end. That is over four times the population of our entire country.

Commentary

Opinion: Here’s how you can save someone’s life from a fentanyl overdose

The Center for Disease Control reports that fentanyl overdose is now the national leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 45.

June 27, 2022

For the first time ever, in 2021, drug overdose deaths exceeded 100,000 people in the United States, more than all vehicle and gun-related deaths combined. Over 75,000 of those deaths were caused by opioids laced with fentanyl. Fentanyl is now the no. 1 killer of U.S. adults aged 18 to 45.

In 2018, the number of people who died in San Diego County from fentanyl was 92. Last year, 2021, over 800 San Diegans lost their lives to fentanyl, including children under 18 years old. The grim reality is that deaths will continue to rise unless there is swift action taken at the county, state and federal levels.

So, what can you do? It starts with education. Parents, you need to talk to your kids and teenagers. A few weeks ago, I co-hosted a virtual town hall with District Attorney Summer Stephan titled “What Every Parent Should Know About Fentanyl.” We invited experts in the field, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, emergency care physician Dr. Roneet Lev, U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Outreach Director Cindy Cipriani and the District Attorney’s Division Chief for Major Narcotics James Fontaine. They all shared a sobering message — one pill can kill.

We must change our mindset. These deaths are not overdoses; these are poisonings. According to DEA reports presented by Gordon, most illicit fentanyl originates in Southeast Asia and China. Some fentanyl pills are illegally manufactured in Mexico and smuggled across the border.

Here are a few things parents should know when it comes to fentanyl. The illicit pills are made to look like legitimate medication such as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax and Adderall. These pills are commonly sold illegally though social media. They’re being marketed on Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat, often by people your kids know. Your son or daughter may even trust them. In many cases, dealers have no idea the substance they are providing contains fentanyl. Teenagers can no longer risk trying drugs with no repercussions. A recent DEA study found that 4 out of 10 counterfeit pills contained a fatal dose of fentanyl. If you’re buying pills on social media, the chances are high they are counterfeit pills and you’re playing Russian roulette with your life.

During our Zoom town hall, the parents of Connor White spoke about their son. Connor was a standout athlete and a 4.0 GPA student at Cathedral Catholic High School. Last year, during finals week, Connor took a Percocet he got from a “friend” which was laced with fentanyl, and tragically passed away. He never woke up and it was heartbreaking to hear their story.

The tragedies of fentanyl overdoses are preventable, but it starts with talking with and educating kids and teens on the dangers. With the arrival of summer and teens having more free time, it’s imperative that we get the message out that they should never take a pill that wasn’t prescribed for them.

Last year, the district attorney and I launched an initiative to direct the county to work with the educational community, and other stakeholders, to develop a substance use prevention campaign, that focuses on illicit fentanyl awareness. While it’s a start, I know it’s not enough.

At our upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, I, along with Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, will be asking my colleagues and the county’s public health officer to declare fentanyl a public health crisis. This will continue to push awareness among San Diego County residents. We’re also asking for funding to be used for enforcement efforts, harm reductions and treatment efforts.

It’s time we confront the realities of fentanyl in our communities. It’s killing our youth and causing extreme harm to our county. We must address this head on, by talking to our kids and understanding the risks of illicit fentanyl. It’s poison, a weapon, and we must start treating it like one.