Despite only 18% of New Yorkers intentionally using fentanyl, over 80% of those who inject drugs tested positive for the dangerous opioid, a New York University (NYU) study found Wednesday.
Courtney McKnight, Clinical Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at NYU School of Global Public Health, conducted surveys and in-depth interviews with individuals who inject drugs in 2021 and 2022, NYU wrote in a news release. (RELATED: Parents Charged After Two-Year-Old Child Overdoses On Fentanyl)
In 2022, an estimated 109,680 people died of drug overdoses. 75,000 of those deaths were fentanyl-related.
House Republicans have a solution: the HALT Fentanyl Act. pic.twitter.com/a4iMPIVG77
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The participants were questioned about their drug use patterns, including intentional fentanyl use in the past month, as well as their experiences with overdose. Drug tests were then compared with self-reported drug use and actual drug presence.
An overwhelming 83% of participants tested positive for fentanyl, with 46% testing positive for both fentanyl and heroin and 54% testing positive for fentanyl without heroin. Astonishingly, only 18% of participants reported intentional fentanyl use, indicating that a majority of drug users are unknowingly consuming the highly potent opioid, likely mistaking it for heroin.
Almost a quarter of the individuals surveyed experienced at least one overdose in the previous six months. Of those who intentionally used fentanyl, 36% had suffered a recent overdose. Many participants expressed deep concern about the escalating frequency of overdoses in New York City.
The study also found drug users may be developing a higher tolerance to fentanyl, leading to a growing preference for the more potent drug. Some participants reported a decline in the potency of heroin, which may increase the demand for intentional fentanyl use. Intentional fentanyl users were younger and more likely to be white, frequent drug users, and test positive for stimulants.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill designating fentanyl as a Schedule I narcotic. 109,680 Americans died of a fentanyl overdose and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in December 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Much of the fentanyl is manufactured in China and imported across the southern border.