The fentanyl crisis in the United States continues to have severe impacts, with over 100,000 Americans dying annually from drug overdoses. Health experts describe it as the most lethal drug epidemic in history. Brookings Mountain West, a collaboration between UNLV and the Brookings Institution, recently hosted discussions on this issue featuring Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at Brookings. These discussions are part of a podcast series titled "The Killing Drugs: Synthetic Opioids around the World."
This podcast series began in August and examines the fentanyl crisis both nationally and globally. The latest episodes focus on efforts by UNLV faculty in healthcare and criminal justice to address fentanyl abuse in Southern Nevada. The aim is to inform policymakers, law enforcement, and community organizations about the challenges faced by those combating this epidemic.
In one episode titled "From Cradle to Grave," Anne Weisman and Sara Hunt from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV discuss how opioids affect Nevadans across all age groups and strain an already burdened healthcare system. Hunt notes that opioid misuse affects about 4% of Nevada's population, which is higher than national averages.
In 2022 alone, 836 Nevadans died from unintentional drug overdoses—a 6% increase from 2021. Weisman emphasizes the personal losses involved: “Each person that dies from this... not to mention the loss of potential that their human life had.” Hunt highlights Nevada's shortage of mental health professionals as a significant challenge.
Another episode features Alexis Kennedy and Dr. Lisa Durette discussing young people’s interaction with opioids within the juvenile justice system. Kennedy explains how these drugs contribute to mental health issues among juveniles and stresses early intervention: “By the time young people end up in the juvenile justice system, arguably our society has already failed.”
Durette addresses complexities related to teenage experimentation with drugs like fentanyl compared to others such as cocaine or methamphetamines. She notes that synthetic opioids are often mixed with other substances, complicating treatment efforts: “We’ve seen patients who believed they were using methamphetamine... yet their drug screens are coming up positive for fentanyl.”
The podcast episodes can be accessed on platforms including Apple, Spotify, or YouTube under "The Killing Drugs: Synthetic Opioids Around the World."