Fentanyl and other opioids make up the worst drug crisis in the U.S.

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In the last years, opioids, specifically fentanyl, have created the worst drug crisis in the history of the United States, which could be a key issue in this elections.

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00:00the country, and fentanyl and other opioids are fueling the worst drug crisis in the history

00:07of the United States. This has been in the media. More than 1,500 US citizens are dying every week

00:15from taking some type of opioid, making this drug by far the leading cause of fatal overdoses in the

00:21country. In recent years, the crisis has become defined by illicit fentanyl, an extremely lethal

00:27synthetic opioid. Let's see some material and we'll continue talking.

00:33Mass fentanyl in the US is smuggled across the Mexico border, often transported in vehicles

00:40or by individuals carrying small concealable amounts due to its high potency. The average

00:47weight of size fentanyl is 1.2 kilograms, which can contain over 50,000 lethal doses.

00:56By December 2023, at least 12,245 kilograms have been intercepted at the southern US border that

01:05year. Overdoses involving synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, are the leading cause

01:10of death for the US adults aged 18 to 45. In 2021, fatalities surged to 80,411,

01:18surpassing US military deaths in past 9-11 conflicts. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified

01:25the opioid crisis, disrupting supply chains and pushing individuals toward unfamiliar drugs.

01:31Social distancing leads to more solitary drug use, increasing overdose risk.

01:37Additionally, the proliferation of illicit fentanyl, often disguised as a legal prescription

01:43opioids by drug cartels, has further worsened the situation. The opioid epidemic is significantly

01:50impacting the US economy, with estimates from the US Congress Joint Economic Committee

01:56indicating its cost nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020, accounting for 7% of that year's GDP,

02:07an increase of about one-third since 2017. This cost is projected to rise with increasing fatal

02:15doses. Between 2008 and 2021, the US provided Mexico with approximately US$3.5 billion in

02:24security and concerned COVID aids, including military aircraft and surveillance softwares.

02:30President Joe Biden has prioritized the fentanyl crisis as both a domestic and foreign policy issue

02:36despite rising overdose deaths during his administration. In late 2021, he declared

02:43scientific opioid trafficking a national emergency and signed executive orders to

02:48sanction those involved in fentanyl production. By late 2023, the US sanctioned 25 China-based

02:56entities linked to fentanyl-precursor chemicals and added China to the list of major illicit

03:03drug production and transit countries, alongside 22 others, including Colombia, India, and Mexico.

03:10And after this material, let's see and let's

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