In the face of this growing crisis, the United States continues to face a devastating fentanyl crisis that has evolved into a national emergency, threatening public health, economic stability, and national security.
President Trump declared a National Emergency during his first week back in the White House, when he declared the drug cartels bringing Fentanyl across our borders as an unprecedented national security threat. This synthetic opioid, originally developed as an intravenous anesthetic in the 1960s, has become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
The crisis also disproportionately affects certain communities. Black and Latino populations continue to experience the most increase in overdose mortality rates.
In 2020, Black males in Washington, D.C., faced the highest recorded mortality rate, with 134 fentanyl overdose deaths per 100,000—9.4 times the rate for White males.
Escalating Death Toll Over the past 25 years, more than 727,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses, marking a tenfold increase in mortality rates from 1999 to 2022. Nearly half of these deaths occurred between 2017 and 2022, with 81,806 lives lost in 2022 alone. Synthetic opioids, primarily illegally manufactured fentanyl, contribute an estimated 90 percent of these deaths.
