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April 4, 2022
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Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
A r u b a ’ s O N L Y E n g l i s h n e w s p a p e r
States look for solutions as U.S. fentanyl deaths keep rising

By GEOFF MULVIHILL to test drugs for fentanyl
Associated Press are legal. The urgency is
As the addiction and over- heightened because of
dose crisis that has gripped the deepening impact of
the U.S. for two decades the drugs. Last year, the U.S.
turns even deadlier, state Centers for Disease Control
governments are scram- and Prevention reported
bling for ways to stem the the nation had hit a grim
destruction wrought by milestone. For the first time,
fentanyl and other synthet- more than 100,000 Ameri-
ic opioids. cans had died of drug
In statehouses across the overdoses over a 12-month
country, lawmakers have period. About two-thirds of
been considering and the deaths were linked to
adopting laws on two fentanyl and other synthet-
fronts: reducing the risk to ic drugs, which can be 50
users and increasing the to 100 times more potent
penalties for dealing fen- than morphine, heroin or
tanyl or mixing it with other prescription opioids.
drugs. Meanwhile, Repub- The recent case of five
lican state attorneys gen- West Point cadets who
eral are calling for more overdosed on fentanyl-
federal action, while some laced cocaine during
GOP governors are deploy- spring break in Florida put
ing National Guard units the dangers and perva- A display of the fentanyl and meth that was seized by Customs and Border Protection officers over
with a mission that includes siveness of the fentanyl cri- the weekend at the Nogales Port of Entry is shown during a press conference on Thursday, Jan.
stopping the flow of fen- sis back in the spotlight. 31, 2019, in Nogales, Ariz.
tanyl from Mexico. The chemical precursors Associated Press
“It’s a fine line to help peo- to the drugs are being
ple and try to get people shipped largely from China are often mixed with other dle exchanges and some- nearby areas, has been
clean, and at the same to Mexico, where much of drugs or formed into coun- times at concerts or other pushing for the test strip leg-
time incarcerate and get the illicit fentanyl supply is terfeit pills so users often events where drugs are ex- islation. It also would ease
the drug dealers off the produced in labs before don’t know they’re taking pected to be sold or used. access to naloxone, a drug
streets,” said Nathan Man- being smuggled into the it. Advocates say test strips Thomas Stuber, chief legis- that can be used to revive
ning, a Republican state U.S. While users sometimes can help prevent acci- lative officer at The LCADA people when they’re hav-
senator in Ohio who is spon- seek out fentanyl specifi- dental overdoses of drugs Way, a drug treatment ing opioid overdoses.
soring legislation to make it cally, it and other synthet- laced with fentanyl. The organization in Ohio that
clear that materials used ics with similar properties strips are given out at nee- serves Lorain County and Continued on Page 2