U.S. has a Fentanyl crisis

Aiden Lowry died of a fentanyl overdose last December. His mother Sara remembers when her son started vaping and using marijuana to deal with the isolation during COVID. Later he started taking Percocet, the brand name for the opioid oxycodone. After his death, testing revealed Percocet was laced with fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl has a legitimate medical use when under the supervision of a licensed professional.

But illegal fentanyl is the new silent killer in the U.S.