KARAH RUCKER: FOR YEARS, FENTANYL HAS BEEN THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG ADULTS 18 TO 45. NEW DATA SUGGESTS THAT THREAT IS ONLY WORSENING IN THE COUNTRY – AS OVERDOSE DEATHS INVOLVING FENTANYL **MORE THAN TRIPLED IN FIVE YEARS. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE LATEST DATA RELEASED THIS WEEK BY THE CDC.

CDC’S NEW DATA ON FENTANYL OVERDOSES

IN 2016 – OVERDOSE DEATHS INVOLVING FENTANYL WERE 5.7 PER 100 THOUSAND PEOPLE IN THE U.S. BY 2021 – DEATHS INVOLVING FENTANYL GREW TO 21.6 PER 100 THOUSAND. AND BETWEEN 2020 AND 2021 ALONE – FENTANYL OVERDOSES JUMPED BY 24 PERCENT. MEANING THE PROBLEM IS ONLY PROGRESSING. AND AUTHORITIES AROUND THE WORLD KNOW THIS.

INTERNATIONAL CRACKDOWN ON FENTANYL

IN A CRACKDOWN INVOLVING U.S. AUTHORITIES AND INTERNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES – 300 PEOPLE ACCUSED OF BUYING AND SELLING FENTANYL ON THE DARK WEB WERE ARRESTED THIS WEEK — MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE ARRESTS WERE MADE IN THE U.S.

IT WAS AN OPERATION THAT LASTED 18 MONTHS AND SPANNED THREE COUNTRIES — THE LARGEST STING OF ITS KIND. MORE THAN 53 MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH AND VIRTUAL CURRENCIES WAS TAKEN, ALONG WITH GUNS AND NEARLY 2 THOUSAND POUNDS OF DRUGS.

MONOPOLY MARKETS TARGETED BY GOVERNMENT

WITH DEATHS RELATED TO FENTANYL TRIPLING IN A 5 YEAR SPAN — THE GOVERNMENT IS LIKELY TO CONTINUE SIMILAR CRACK DOWNS ON MONOPOLY MARKETS LOOKING TO FINANCIALLY CAPITALIZE ON A GROWING OPIOID CRISIS.