Studies done by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) suggest that these man-made heroin pills are up to 50 times more potent than raw heroin. Also according to the DEA, South Florida drug dealers also receive large supplies of the drug from less-regulated countries like China.
Fentanyl is not the only drug making a huge comeback in the Sunshine State.
Cocaine-related deaths in bout South Florida counties soared last year, reaching 214 in Palm Beach and 265 in Broward.
Hall believes that this is a result of an increased supply of cocaine entering South Florida.
This would corroborate with reports from the DEA stating that Colombian cocaine-production has hit record highs in recent years. Traffickers have found a great deal of work moving the illicit drug up into the southern reaches of the state over the last decade.
In 2016, the Florida Customs and Border Protection personnel seized nearly 10,000 pounds of cocaine. This was a 61 percent increase over 2015.
Of course, cocaine is not the only dangerous drug introduced in the wild cocktails that coroners have uncovered within the bodies of those who died of drug overdose. Fentanyl, for instance, was found in about half of the cases involving cocaine death.
