August 21 marks National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day.
The day serves to educate society about what experts have called the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis in U.S. history.
Fentanyl is an opioid that is nearly 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, per the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The drug is inexpensive and highly addictive, a lethal combination that has destroyed and ended the lives of countless Americans.
While many drug users are aware when they are ingesting fentanyl, just as many are not. Drug dealers often mix small amounts of fentanyl into the other drugs they sell to drive addiction and repeat business. Because of this, many people who have overdosed on fentanyl were not even aware they were taking the drug.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to constitute a potentially lethal dose.
“DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl pills and 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023,” said the DEA in a recognition statement of National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. “That equates to more than 381 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl that DEA was able to keep out of our communities.”
As of August 21, the DEA has seized over 33 million fentanyl pills and 4,574 pounds of fentanyl powder this year. July 2024 logged the higher figures for fentanyl seizures compared to July 2023, July 2022, and July 2021.
With ample fentanyl continuing to be smuggled into the United States across the southern border, the epidemic is an ongoing issue for Texans.
One of the most powerful Mexican drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel, purportedly moved its operations closer to Texas earlier this year, as reported by The Dallas Express.
The Sinaloa Cartel is notorious for trafficking fentanyl into the United States. In late July, two high-profile cartel members were apprehended by federal law enforcement. The men were considered two of Mexico’s most influential drug traffickers.
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland following the arrests.
Closer to home, the Fort Worth Police Department created a fentanyl response team in 2023 to target fentanyl drug dealers around the city.
Additionally, the Dallas Police Department established an overdose unit in 2021 that investigates all drug overdoses in Dallas. DPD also has a narcotics unit that focuses on combatting illegal drugs and raising community awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.
Still, DPD has been hampered by a longstanding officer shortage, fielding only around 3,000 officers when a City analysis advises that approximately 4,000 are needed.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, there have been 7,206 drug offenses committed in Dallas proper this year as of August 20. Drug crime is especially prevalent in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs more offenses than Fort Worth’s city center. Fort Worth’s downtown area is patrolled by a special police unit and private security guards.
DPD was only allocated $654 million this fiscal year, far less than what other high-crime cities like Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles spend on their police departments.