The New York administration announced this Thursday that a “summit” will be held next week to seek solutions to the fentanyl crisis in the United States.. This powerful opioid has caused overdose deaths to rise considerably in recent years.

According to a statement, the forum will last two days – the date is not specified – and will include “elected officials, public health officials and law enforcement professionals from across the country.”. These will discuss strategies with the objective “of developing a national strategy to combat the scourge of fentanyl.”

New York authorities announced this week that in 2022 more than 3,000 people will die from overdoses in the city.. This figure represents a record since the data was collected and an increase of 12% compared to the previous year; Fentanyl was present in 81% of these deaths.

Recently, shock gripped the Big Apple due to the death of a child and the poisoning of three others due to exposure to fentanyl at a daycare center in the Bronx.. Police found a stash of drugs and paraphernalia under the playground in an apparent undercover drug trafficking operation.

“Avoid fatal overdoses”

This drug, which can be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is commonly used in acute pain medicine, but criminal organizations are also manufacturing and distributing it illegally, mixed with other substances or falsely represented as heroin, cocaine or pharmaceuticals. soothing.

According to the latest data, almost 110,000 overdose deaths were recorded nationwide in 2022, 0.5% more than in 2021 – which represents a stabilization after increases of 17% and 30% in previous years – and in Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were detected in 75,000 of those cases.

The city's mayor, Eric Adams, noted in the statement the need to “develop a national framework to prevent fatal overdoses” and indicated that those convened will focus on strategies of “education, law enforcement, awareness, prevention and treatment “.

The note includes the support of the administrations of New Orleans (Louisiana), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Laredo (Texas) and Los Angeles (California) for the forum, as well as those responsible for health, security and the New York police.