Shifts in drug seizures in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Little is known regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected patterns of drug use in the United States. Because drug seizures can serve as a proxy for drug availability, we examined shifts in drug seizures in the US during the pandemic. METHODS: We examined trends in seizures of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl within five High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas-Washington/Baltimore, Chicago, Ohio, New Mexico, and North Florida. Trends were examined for number and total weight of seizures from March 2019 through September 2020 using Joinpoint regression. RESULTS: Significant decreases in seizures involving marijuana (ß = -0.03, P = 0.005) and methamphetamine (ß = -0.02, P = 0.026) were detected through April 2020, and then seizures of marijuana (ß = 0.10, P = 0.028) and methamphetamine (ß = 0.11, P = 0.010) significantly increased through September 2020. The number of seizures involving marijuana and methamphetamine peaked in August 2020, exceeding the highest pre-COVID-19 number of seizures. Fentanyl seizures increased overall (ß = 0.05, P < .001), but did not significantly drop during the start of COVID-19, and significant changes were not detected for cocaine or heroin. We also detected a significant increase in weight of marijuana seized from April through September 2020 (ß = 0.40, P = .001). The weight of marijuana seized in August 2020 exceeded the highest pre-COVID-19 weight. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an immediate decrease in marijuana and methamphetamine seizures, and then increases throughout 2020 with some months exceeding the number (and weights) of seizures from the previous year. More research is warranted to determine the extent to which these seizures reflect changes in drug use.

The opioid crisis and HIV in the USA: deadly synergies.

The opioid epidemic is one of the greatest public health problems that the USA faces. Opioid overdose death rates have increased steadily for more than a decade and doubled in 2013-17, as the highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl entered the drug supply. Demographics of new HIV diagnoses among people who inject drugs are also changing, with more new HIV diagnoses occurring among White people, young people (aged 13-34 years), and people who reside outside large central metropolitan areas. Racial differences also exist in syringe sharing, which decreased among Black people and Hispanic people but remained unchanged among White people in 2005-15. Recent HIV outbreaks have occurred in rural areas of the USA, as well as among marginalised people in urban areas with robust HIV prevention and treatment services (eg, Seattle, WA). Multiple evidence-based interventions can effectively treat opioid use disorder and prevent HIV acquisition. However, considerable barriers exist precluding delivery of these solutions to many people who inject drugs. If the USA is serious about HIV prevention among this group, stigma must be eliminated, discriminatory policies must change, and comprehensive health care must be accessible to all. Finally, root causes of the opioid epidemic such as hopelessness need to be identified and addressed.

Safer opioid distribution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down in a very short period of time. The impact of COVID-19 will disproportionately effect people who are least able to protect themselves and this will include people who use drugs. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic comes at time when North America is in the midst of a protracted overdose epidemic caused by a toxic illegal drug supply. Overdose deaths are likely to rise when people are isolated, social support programs are cut back, and the illicit drug supply is further compromised. Safer opioid distribution in response to a toxic street drug supply is a pragmatic and effective way to reduce overdose deaths. COVID-19 makes such an approach even more urgent and compelling.

"One guy goes to jail, two people are ready to take his spot": Perspectives on drug-induced homicide laws among incarcerated individuals.

BACKGROUND: As overdose deaths have increased in the United States, some lawmakers have explored punitive, "supply-side" interventions aimed at reducing the supply of fentanyl. While a rationale of seeking to protect people who use drugs is often given to justify harsh sentences for fentanyl distribution, there is no research to our knowledge on perceptions of the effect of drug-induced homicide laws among people who use drugs. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 40 people with opioid use disorder (OUD) who were enrolled in a medication for addiction treatment (MAT) program in a unified jail and prison system in Rhode Island on attitudes surrounding increased sentences for distribution of fentanyl, including recently enacted drug-induced homicide laws. Codes were developed using a generalized, inductive method and interviews analyzed in NVivo 12 after being coded by two coders. RESULTS: Most participants stated that drug-induced homicide laws would not be an effective strategy to stem the overdose crisis. We identified key themes, including discussions surrounding the autonomy of people who use drugs, widespread fentanyl prevalence as a barrier to implementation of drug-induced homicide laws, discussions of mass incarceration as ineffective for addressing substance use disorders, feelings that further criminalization could lead to violence, criminalization as a justification for interpersonal loss, and intention as meaningful to categorizing an act as homicide. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of centering the experiences of people with OUD in creating policies surrounding the overdose epidemic, potential unintended health consequences of drug-induced homicides laws such as deterrence from calling 911 and increased violence, and how drug-induced homicide laws may undermine advances made in expanding access to OUD treatment for people who are criminal justice-involved.

Fentanyl shock: The changing geography of overdose in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Rapid increases in drug overdose deaths in the United States since 2014 have been highly regionally stratified, with the largest increases occurring in the eastern and northeastern states. By contrast, many western states saw overdose deaths plateau. This paper shows how the differential influx of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in the drug supply has reshaped the geography and demography of the overdose crisis in the United States. METHODS: Using all state lab drug seizures obtained by Freedom of Information Act request, I analyze the regionally distinctive presence of fentanyl in the US drug supply with descriptive plots and statistical models. Main analyses explore state-year overdose trends using two-way fixed effects ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and two-stage least squares regression (2SLS) instrumenting for fentanyl exposure with state-longitude times a linear trend. RESULTS: First, fentanyl exposure is highly correlated with geography and only weakly explained by overdose rates prior to 2014. States in the east (higher degrees longitude) are much more heavily affected. Second, fentanyl exposure exhibits a statistically significant and important effect on overdose mortality, with model-predicted deaths broadly consistent with official death statistics. Third, fentanyl exposure explains most of the variation in increased overdose mortality between 2011 and 2017. Consequently, the epicenter of the overdose crisis shifted towards the eastern United States over these years. CONCLUSION: These findings shed light on the "third-wave" of the overdose epidemic, characterized by rapid and geographically disparate changes in drug supply that heighten the risk of overdose. Above all, they underscore the urgency of adopting evidence-based policies to combat addiction in light of the rapidly changing drug environment.

Trends in the medical supply of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues: United States, 2006 to 2017.

Fentanyl is an important opioid for pain management, but also has exceptional potential for misuse. Seven states have implemented opioid prescribing laws. The objectives of this study were to: 1) characterize the temporal pattern of fentanyl, fentanyl analogue, and other opioid use over the past decade, and 2) determine whether opioid prescribing laws impacted fentanyl use in the US. Drug weights were obtained from the US Automated Reports of Consolidated Orders System (June 2018), a comprehensive publically available resource, from 2006 to 2017 for fentanyl, sufentanil, remifentanil, alfentanil, other prescription opioids, and analyzed by presence of a state opioid prescribing law. Fentanyl, corrected for population, was reduced from 2016 to 2017 (-17.9%) and these decreases significantly exceeded the changes in hydrocodone (-12.3%), oxycodone (-10.1%), morphine (-13.3%), or codeine (-8.8%). Fentanyl showed a particularly large decline in Maine, a state with a strong opioid prescribing law. There was a 3.5 fold difference in fentanyl (µg per capita) in Alaska (488.2) relative to Oregon (1718.4). Hospital use of remifentanil and sufentanil tripled from 2006 to 2017. Although all states experienced a 2016 to 2017 decline in fentanyl, and this reduction was larger than many other prescription opioids, the rate of decline varied over three-fold between states. Strong state laws may account for a portion of the variance in fentanyl and other opioid reductions. The population health risks of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues warrants ongoing vigilance.

Amount of naloxone used to reverse opioid overdoses outside of medical practice in a city with increasing illicitly manufactured fentanyl in illicit drug supply.

Background: Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) prevalence has increased. However, there is uncertainty about naloxone dose(s) used by nonmedical bystanders to reverse opioid overdoses in the context of increasing IMF. Methods: We used community naloxone distribution program data about naloxone doses and fatal opioid overdoses from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. From January 2013 to December 2016, staff interviewed participants who administered naloxone in response to 1072 overdoses. We calculated frequencies, percentages, and conducted a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Despite increases in fentanyl-contributed deaths, there were no statistically significant differences between any of the 4 years (2013-2016) on average number of naloxone doses used by participants to reverse an overdose (F = 0.88; P = .449). Conclusion: Even though IMF is more potent than heroin and is a rapidly increasing contributor to drug overdose deaths in Allegheny County, the average dose of naloxone administered has not changed. Our findings differ from studies in different areas also experiencing increasing IMF prevalence. Additional investigations are needed to clarify the amount of naloxone needed to reverse opioid overdoses in the community caused by new synthetic opioids.

Illicit fentanyls in the opioid street market: desired or imposed?

BACKGROUND: Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogues are appearing in countries throughout the world, often disguised as heroin or counterfeit prescription pills, with resulting high overdose mortality. Possible explanations for this phenomenon include reduced costs and risks to heroin suppliers, heroin shortages, user preferences for a strong, fast-acting opioid and the emergence of Dark Web cryptomarkets. This paper addresses these potential causes and asks three questions: (1) can users identify fentanyl; (2) do users desire fentanyl; and (3) if users want fentanyl, can they express this demand in a way that influences the supply? ARGUMENT/ANALYSIS: Existing evidence, while limited, suggests that some users can identify fentanyl, although not reliably, and some desire it, but because fentanyl is frequently marketed deceptively as other drugs, users lack information and choice to express demand effectively. Even when aware of fentanyl's presence, drug users may lack fentanyl-free alternatives. Cryptomarkets, while difficult to quantify, appear to offer buyers greater information and competition than offline markets. However, access barriers and patterns of fentanyl-related health consequences make cryptomarkets unlikely sources of user influence on the fentanyl supply. Market condition data indicate heroin supply shocks and shortages prior to the introduction of fentanyl in the United States and parts of Europe, but the much lower production cost of fentanyl compared with heroin may be a more significant factor CONCLUSION: Current evidence points to a supply-led addition of fentanyl to the drug market in response to heroin supply shocks and shortages, changing prescription opioid availability and/or reduced costs and risks to suppliers. Current drug users in affected regions of the United States, Canada and Europe appear largely to lack both concrete knowledge of fentanyl's presence in the drugs they buy and access to fentanyl-free alternatives.

Fentanyl: A Whole New World?

This article seeks to document the latest danger in the opioid crisis: fentanyl and related synthetic opioids. Fifty times more potent than pure heroin, cheaper to manufacture in laboratories worldwide, and easily distributed by mail and couriers, fentanyl is flooding the illicit opioid markets throughout the country.

Carfentanil in Impaired Driving Cases and the Importance of Drug Seizure Data.

Drug seizures containing carfentanil continue to increase in Palm Beach County, FL, USA despite international efforts to control the distribution of the drug. The analysis of drug seizures from the county in 2016 and 2017 demonstrated that carfentanil was the most commonly identified fentanyl analog and was most often detected in combination with heroin, fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl and/or other fentanyl analogs. Carfentanil is an ultra-potent opioid requiring a method with adequate sensitivity for detection in blood specimens from impairment cases. Previous research indicated that carfentanil could not be identified in biological specimens by routine drug testing protocols and that detection requires targeted analysis with greater sensitivity. Due to the prevalence of carfentanil in drug seizures, a sensitive targeted qualitative method by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry in antemortem blood samples was evaluated, validated and implemented. The method included identification of carfentanil, acetyl fentanyl, beta-hydroxythiofentanyl, butyryl fentanyl, fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, kavain, mitragynine, MT-45 and U-47700. In 2017 carfentanil was the second most frequently detected drug, after ethanol, in driving under the influence blood cases. Of all blood cases in which drug testing was performed (n = 145), carfentanil was detected in 38% followed by alprazolam (29%), fentanyl (27%), delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (24%) and morphine (23%). In toxicology cases carfentanil was rarely identified alone (only four cases) and was most commonly identified with other opioids (73% of cases), benzodiazepines (43%) and stimulants (29%). The high incidence of carfentanil-positive cases detected by this method underscores the importance of continually monitoring regional drug seizure trends, and evaluating the adequacy of toxicology testing panels based on these trends.

What Parenteral Opioids to Use in Face of Shortages of Morphine, Hydromorphone, and Fentanyl.

Parenteral potent opioid availability is becoming an issue in acute pain management. Two opioids, nalbuphine and buprenorphine, are available which can be substituted for hydromorphone, fentanyl, and morphine. There are advantages and disadvantages in using these 2 opioids which are discussed, and potential dosing strategies are outlined.

Silicon to syringe: Cryptomarkets and disruptive innovation in opioid supply chains.

Cryptomarkets offer insight into the evolving interplay between online black markets and cartel-based distribution. The types and forms of heroin, fentanyl, and prescription drugs show wide diversification. In this commentary we describe changes in the conceptualizations, technologies and structures of drug supply chains in the 21st Century, with special attention to the role of cryptomarkets as tools, contexts, and drivers of innovation in public health research.

Today's fentanyl crisis: Prohibition's Iron Law, revisited.

More than a decade in the making, America's opioid crisis has morphed from being driven by prescription drugs to one fuelled by heroin and, increasingly, fentanyl. Drawing on historical lessons of the era of National Alcohol Prohibition highlights the unintended, but predictable impact of supply-side interventions on the dynamics of illicit drug markets. Under the Iron Law of Prohibition, efforts to interrupt and suppress the illicit drug supply produce economic and logistical pressures favouring ever-more compact substitutes. This iatrogenic progression towards increasingly potent illicit drugs can be curtailed only through evidence-based harm reduction and demand reduction policies that acknowledge the structural determinants of health.

Fentanyl use among street drug users in Toronto, Canada: behavioural dynamics and public health implications.

Prescription opioids (POs) are playing an increasingly central role in street drug use and related harms in North America. One distinct PO substance of interest is Fentanyl (Duragesic), a potent opioid analgesic designed for transdermal time-release application. Studies from Europe and North America have documented the sizeable overdose and mortality burden associated with the non-medical use of this drug. This study explores practices and risk dynamics associated with Fentanyl abuse, also considering public health implications. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 regular street-entrenched illicit PO users in Toronto, Canada, a sub-sample of which were recent Fentanyl users. Results showed that while relatively rare on the illicit PO market in Toronto, Fentanyl is a highly desired, sought after and relatively expensive PO drug among street users. In addition, the new 'matrix' patch technology implemented for Fentanyl since 2005 is a limited safeguard against abuse as simple extraction methods are utilized by street users. Finally, distinct risk behaviours relevant for public health emerge due to the high black market costs of Fentanyl and the extraction techniques applied, potentially facilitating high risks for infectious disease (e.g., HCV, HIV) transmission and/or overdose. Consequently, prevalence and practices of Fentanyl use by street users require closer monitoring, targeted interventions and further research regarding risks and outcomes.

Opioid purchases and expenditure in nine western European countries: 'are we killing off morphine?'.

BACKGROUND: In clinical practice the major role of opioid drugs is the management of malignant and nonmalignant pain. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the trend in sales of four opioid analgesic drugs (codeine, tramadol, morphine, fentanyl), from wholesalers to community pharmacies, as an indicator of opioid consumption in nine European countries in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Secondary aims are to compare: (a) the amount of each drug purchased by different countries in 2003; (b) the average price for each drug in the different countries in 2003; and (c) the total expenditure for each opioid from 2001 to 2003. METHODS: Data from the Statistical Report on drugs purchased by pharmacies was supplied by IMS Health, an internationally accepted information provider for the pharmaceutical and health care industries. FINDING: In the period 2001 2003, while the percentage increase of purchases of fentanyl and tramadol was considerable, that of morphine was the lowest in most of the nine countries. The largest consumer of codeine was the UK and of tramadol was Belgium. The consumption of morphine was the lowest reported in all the countries together and was three times lower than that of transdermal fentanyl. There was a high variability in the costs of the opioids among the different countries. In 2003, the total expenditure for fentanyl reached the highest total expenditure [corrected] followed by codeine. Morphine presents the lowest expenditure in all nine countries and over all three years. INTERPRETATION: These results open up many questions. What factors influence opioid purchasing and costs in these European countries? It would be interesting to have the answers from those people who know the actual situation in the individual countries.