Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, has been considered a true epidemic in the United States for many years, where in 2021 it was the main cause of a record of more than 107,000 overdose deaths.
In recent years, however, its consumption has also established itself on the other side of its southern border in Mexican municipalities such as Tijuana.
In 2021, Mexico seized an all-time high of more than 1,800 kilos of fentanyl.
In the last three or four years, social organizations have identified how fentanyl began to flood the drug market on the northern Mexican border.
The main reason is that for producers and traffickers it translates into a greater profit in less time and work than what other substances entail.
The closure of the border during the pandemic also contributed to the fact that part of the fentanyl intended for sale in the US remained in Mexican territory.
For consumers, however, this drug entered their lives unknowingly. In most cases, they initially thought that what they were buying was still heroin.
They were unaware that it was fentanyl, an even more addictive and dangerous substance, and the ignorance among some continues even years later.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and, along with other synthetic opioids, is the drug most frequently involved in overdose deaths.
According to data from the National Commission against Addictions (Conadic), the main government agency dedicated to the prevention and treatment of addictions, the number of people who consulted one of its centers throughout the country for fentanyl use went from five in 2013 to 184 in 2021.
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