This is shocking: Poisoning by illicit fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for adults aged 18 to 45 in the U.S., says the federal government, surpassing suicide, gun violence and car accidents.
The tragic stories are becoming commonplace. Three young professionals in New York City ordered cocaine from the same delivery service and died alone after the coke turned out to be fentanyl. Three adults died in a home on the Venice canals after snorting what they thought was cocaine. A 17-year-old Eagle Scout in Northern California bought what he thought was a Percocet tablet and died slumped over the desk in his bedroom. A 15-year-old girl was found dead in the bathroom of her Los Angeles high school after swallowing what she thought was a prescription pain pill. Five West Point cadets on spring break in Florida were poisoned by fentanyl-laced cocaine.
You can’t really call most of these deaths and near-deaths overdoses, though they are usually described that way. “Overdose” to me implies the victims were aware of what they were ingesting and overdid it. (These are not people addicted to fentanyl; they haven’t developed a tolerance for opioids, although anyone who gets clean and relapses could be in danger of accidentally overdosing.) Instead, these are unwitting self-poisonings. The victims didn’t sign up for fentanyl.
