Natalia Vitela/ Reform Agency
Monday, January 23, 2023 | 07:04
Morelos, Mexico.- The problem of fentanyl consumption in the country is largely affecting the border; however, it is very likely that the problem will spread to other parts of the Republic, warned Jorge Villatoro, a researcher at the National Institute of Psychiatry.
“It’s going to be a pretty strong problem, I hope the government gets its act together so that it can contain this and be prepared to serve the people.
“The part that is super important is that the naloxone (medication that can reverse an overdose) is released and that it is available and that all emergency services bring it, at least from the border, in order to prevent possible deaths. by overdose of the people who are consuming it voluntarily or involuntarily,” demanded the expert in the study of drugs.
He indicated that there is more and more information about the problems with overdose due to the consumption of fentanyl and the mixture of this drug with other substances.
“Currently it already has a name, people are looking for it directly, the name they are assigning it is M30, but people already look for it on a regular basis, they ask for it; although to a large extent much of the drug that is being taken It seems that it is now adulterated with fentanyl,” he warned.
He pointed out that the target population is injection drug users, and although one of the presentations of fentanyl is pills, injection drug users make them powder; they burn them and the resulting liquid is injected by combining it with other substances, or with the same heroin.
“The demand is largely by Mexicans, although at the border there is a ratio of one to 10 who come from the United States.”
Until the first quarter of 2022, the current administration had secured 13,588,860 fentanyl pills, that is, 2,879 kilograms.
According to the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), this action prevented 2,892,588,860 doses of fentanyl from reaching the population. The value of the insured corresponds to one trillion 156 thousand 547 million 26 thousand 228 pesos.
Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that was manufactured for therapeutic purposes, as a sedative.
It is a chemical substance made in the laboratory that causes effects on the central nervous system, as well as multiple organic alterations, explains the Sedena.
The chemical precursors come from the Asian continent and are transported by sea and arrive at the Mexican ports of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán; Mazatlan, Sinaloa and Manzanillo, Colima.
The report indicates that the states that register the highest insurance to produce these drugs are Sinaloa, with 54; Michoacan, with 19; Jalisco, with 14, and Durango, with 13.
In the present administration, 24 tablet machines have also been secured to make fentanyl pills.
Sedena recognizes that the synthetic drug has an upward trend in its consumption, due to its rapid addition, less production and transportation effort, as well as the profits it generates for organized crime.
He noted that fentanyl has a very high addition level and decreases sensitivity to pain; blood pressure; heart rate and breathing; It also causes suffocation and consequently death.
“The average lifespan of a synthetic drug user after their first ingestion ranges between 17 and 18 years, depending on the periodicity and amount of drug consumed.”
