According to CNN, since quarter one of 2016, “…all drug overdose deaths peak at 19.9 cases for every 100,000 people, compared to the 16.7 in the same period last year.”

This increase in opioid related deaths have been attributed to new laced drugs on the streets.

With the introduction of Fentanyl infused Heroin, dealers are now handing out caskets with every baggie.

Fentanyl is a genetically engineered drug that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and mixed with other drugs such as heroine, can cause severe damage to the respiratory system, and will prove fatal in those severe cases.

Last week, a study found that from 2008 to 2014, the percentages of opioid overdoses were underestimated by 24 percent.

“These differences are likely attributed to the growing use of synthetic opioids like street fentanyl that medical examiners and health departments may not have included initially on death certificates.”

Fentanyl overdoses have been wrongfully concluded in the past by medical examiners as heroin overdoses, giving way to the wrong statistics.

With the uprise in street fentanyl related deaths as well as opioid related ones, President Trump’s commission requested him to declare a national emergency.

He was set to speak with Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services, over this epidemic.

Photo courtesy of Google Images.