Fentanyl

 NPR - When fentanyl began to spread in the American street drug supply, most experts believed it was unstoppable. Some of the most sophisticated and ruthless criminal gangs in the world operate the supply chain that fuels the demand for this deadly synthetic drug. Over the past six months, Dan Ciccarone, a physician and street drug researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, heard from experts who have noticed fewer overdoses and a significant decrease in the presence of fentanyl. This mirrors what Ciccarone’s team saw in areas where illicit fentanyl he been flowing for years.

💊 Drug gangs appear to be “adulterating” or weakening the potency of the fentanyl being sold. They often use an industrial chemical known as BTMPS to water it down.
💊 Some drug policy experts believe the shift in the fentanyl supply is a  factor in the sudden national decline in fentanyl-related deaths. It dropped by roughly 10% last year, according to the CDC.
💊 The crackdown on Mexican drug cartels that smuggle this drug into the U.S. could also be impacting the supply chain. 
💊 Dan Salter, who leads a federal task force targeting drug traffickers, says this trend is likely temporary and a modest supply disruption.NPR