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![Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, picked up in a 2016 New York City drug bust. "Basically, [fentanyl] is so cheap to produce and it's so powerful, that drug dealers began realizing it was a way to increase their profits," <em>Fentanyl, Inc. </em>author Ben Westhoff says. But miscalculations of the amount used can be deadly.](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxNTZweCIgd2lkdGg9IjI4MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=)
A special committee from the Jacksonville City Council warns that the uptick in overdoses comes from fentanyl-laced products, often leading to death. -
Data from the CDC show that overdose deaths last year increased nearly 30% across the country. In Florida, the rate increased more than 37%.
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Experts say lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get.
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Officials say two adults and nine juveniles were taken to a hospital following possible overdoses at a behavioral center near Orlando.
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Officials say the pandemic and dealers who mix fentanyl with other drugs have contributed to the increase in overdose deaths in Florida.
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The co-founder of the nonprofit says unemployment, social distancing and isolation make life more difficult for many drug users, although the reasons for using can be far more complex.
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The nation faces a grim milestone of having a record number of overdose deaths in 2020. One expert says social isolation increased the risk of dying from an overdose.
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Advocates say disruptions in care, job loss and increased stress and isolation due to the pandemic are fueling substance abuse problems.
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Overdose deaths related to synthetic opiods like fentanyl increased 1002% nationally between 2011 and 2016, according to a report from the Centers for...
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Medicine cabinets at Florida schools could get a new addition: an antidote for people who overdose on opioids such as heroin.
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![Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, picked up in a 2016 New York City drug bust. "Basically, [fentanyl] is so cheap to produce and it's so powerful, that drug dealers began realizing it was a way to increase their profits," <em>Fentanyl, Inc. </em>author Ben Westhoff says. But miscalculations of the amount used can be deadly.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d6fb80a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2726x1519+0+7/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2019%2F09%2F03%2Fgettyimages-609942630_wide-583d689f7ba210217b87149c21b55fc3dff596eb.jpg)
