The Fentanyl Epidemic in Palm Beach County

Fentanyl, an opioid almost 100 times stronger than morphine, has killed 2,348 Floridians in 2018 alone. Among the 2,348 killed in all of Florida, there were 278 deaths in Palm Beach County, according to the Palm Beach Post. Although drug-related deaths have greatly decreased over the years in Palm Beach County, that doesn’t mean that the many deaths caused by fentanyl should be ignored.

According to the Palm Beach Post, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan proposed the Fentanyl Sanctions act that U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio later co-sponsored. This act tries to find and punish the Chinese drug manufacturers that deliberately send opioids to the U.S. so that the opioids end up in the hands of drug traffickers.

All fentanyl is imported from China and lawmakers are trying to monitor the flow of the drug. As of right now, already two bills passed that will allow the interception of opioids when imported. 

With only two bills passed and the struggle of developing the Fentanyl Sanctions act, this fentanyl epidemic will continue to be a problem in Palm Beach County.