WASHINGTON, D.C. (KERO) — The administrator of the DEA is warning of an alarming new trend of mass overdoses caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
In less than two months, seven U.S. cities have experienced mass overdose events, according to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. A mass overdose event is defined as three or more people overdosing at the same time and in the same place.
The DEA blames the alarming trend on drug dealers mixing fentanyl into other narcotics.
One-third of all fentanyl-related overdose deaths are concentrated in just five states: California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas.
But over the past year, overdose deaths rose in 47 states, with the exception of only Wyoming, Hawaii, and New Hampshire.
