National Fentanyl Awareness Day, marked on Tuesday, May 9, underscores the deadly public health crisis afflicting the nation, New York City and The Bronx. According to law enforcement, local prosecutors and health officials, fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, such as xylazine, are widely distributed in mixtures and quantities that significantly raise the risk of overdose deaths. In New York City, Bronx County has the highest rate of overdose deaths, and is also a main distribution hub for illegal drugs, according to law enforcement officials.

 

On Tuesday, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP) Bridget G. Brennan encouraged New Yorkers to educate themselves about what they described as the ever-changing opioid crisis. Knowledge is power, they said, and in this case, that power can save lives.

 

“If the Bronx was a state, it would have the second highest overdose death rate nationwide, after West Virginia, Clark said. “While we focus on disrupting large scale narcotics operations to reduce the supply of dangerous drugs, we also support treatment and prevention efforts. The Bronx needs more money and resources put into the community to fight this scourge. The financial settlement from opioid drug manufacturers needs to make its way to The Bronx.”

 

Meanwhile, Brennan said, “Thousands of New Yorkers are mourning precious lives claimed by deadly fentanyl.” She added, “Fentanyl is a factor in roughly 80% of overdose deaths in New York City, and we have witnessed an explosion of lethal drug mixtures containing fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, such as xylazine, as well as counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and xylazine. Fentanyl is also marketed as cocaine to unsuspecting buyers. Fentanyl Awareness Day serves as a reminder that even casual or occasional drug use could be fatal.”

 

Each year, according to Clark and Brennan, more Bronx residents fatally overdose than residents of any other borough. In addition, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and as previously reported, four out of the top five neighborhoods most impacted by drug deaths are consistently in The Bronx, and Black New Yorkers have the highest rates of fatal overdose among all races/ethnicities.

 

According to predictive data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 3,100 people are estimated to have fatally overdosed in the City during the 12 months ending in November of 2022. This is the equivalent of one New Yorker dying of a drug overdose every three hours.

 

City officials say fentanyl is involved in roughly eight out of 10 overdose deaths in New York City. A highly potent, shape-shifting synthetic opioid, fentanyl has saturated the drug market, which is highly unpredictable, according to law enforcement officials. They say drug users cannot be sure of what they are purchasing, and even sellers may not know the contents of their products.

 

As previously reported, law enforcement officials said lethal drug mixtures contain fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and a wide range of natural and synthetic substances, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and more recently xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary sedative.

 

According to law enforcement officials, approximately 40 percent of the fentanyl seizures carried out by the SNP Office and their partners, including the Bronx DA’s Office, occurred in The Bronx, a main distribution hub for traffickers in the City and in the northeast of the country. Officials said these seizures now include another drugs: xylazine and xylazine mixed with fentanyl, and described as “extremely dangerous.”

 

City officials said overdose deaths involving xylazine, a tranquilizer drug meant for horses, cattle and other animals, increased by 36 percent between January and October in 2022, and during the same time period in 2021. They said the overdose antidote naloxone (Narcan), which is commonly used to reverse fentanyl overdoses, is ineffective against xylazine, a non-opioid sedative.

 

In 2022, according to the SNP, nearly 1,000 pounds of powdered fentanyl and drug mixtures containing fentanyl and/or heroin were recovered in cases handled by the SNP, in conjunction with the City’s five district attorneys, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division, the NYPD, and other local, state, and federal partners. Additionally, SNP officials said 950,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other substances, such as xylazine, were seized, representing an increase of more than 425 percent over the course of 2021.

 

SNP officials said fake pills are readily found on social media and that no pharmaceutical pill bought on social media or on the street is safe. They said the only safe medications are ones prescribed directly to you by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.

 

Health officials said fentanyl overdoses can be treated with naloxone, a widely available overdose reversal drug. They said New Yorkers who are trained in how to use naloxone, and carry the antidote with them, can potentially save a life. They said it is critically important to call 911 when administering naloxone, particularly since it may be ineffective against xylazine.

 

In August 2022, Norwood News reported how over 13 pounds of heroin/fentanyl were seized at a drug packaging mill in Bedford Park. In 2019, Norwood News reported that 16 men and two women, including at least two suspects connected to Kingsbridge Heights and University Heights, were arrested in the South Bronx following a drug seizure worth $7 million on May 28 that year. They were charged with dealing heroin and enough fentanyl to “kill the population of New York.”

 

Those arrested allegedly had ties to the Sinaloa cartel, formerly led by El Chapo who, as reported, was found guilty on July 17, 2019, on ten federal charges, including murder conspiracies, engaging a continuing criminal enterprise and other drug-related charges. Guzman appealed the decision, but in 2022, the conviction was upheld by a U.S. appeals court that, according to the Associated Press, praised the trial judge for his handling of the case which had drawn international attention.

 

As also reported, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the City’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, announced new measures to reduce the number of overdoses in New York City on Aug. 5, 2022. They said they intend to reverse what they said was the staggering increase in overdose deaths since 2020 by expanding access to technology that tests pre-obtained drugs for fentanyl and other possibly lethal substances. They plan to do this at sites running syringe service programs (SSP) co-located at overdose prevention centers (OPC).

 

In June 2021, we had reported how NYPD officers were able to intervene, using their training to successfully administer the drug, Narcan, to a man, preventing him from dying from an accidental overdose when they discovered him at Kingsbridge Road subway station.

 

On Aug. 8, 2022, we reported how $5 million of street-ready heroin and fentanyl was seized from a Bronx packaging mill in the Crotona section of the borough.

 

Separately, a major drug takedown also occurred in the Mt. Hope section of The Bronx in late June 2022, which involved the seizure of around 110 kilograms of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, plus 50 pounds of a substance believed to be crystal meth, and up to 75,000 counterfeit pills believed to contain fentanyl. The drugs, which law enforcement officials said were intended for citywide distribution, carried an estimated street value of approximately $24 million.

 

The DEA had previously alerted the public to a sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills. SNP officials said DEA laboratory testing in 2022 revealed that six out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, and that this is an increase from the agency’s announcement in 2021 that four out of ten fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain a potentially deadly dose.

 

Click here to read our story about a training session held in St. James Park last summer on how to use live-saving Narcan kits.

 

For New York City wellness resources, visit NYC Well. DOHMH provides training sessions and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan).