Fatal Delivery: Fentanyl Comes By Mail

The Postal Service does not offer an official motto, though one tagline has served as an interim motto for the government service for years. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Postal service workers are associated with this highly dedicated work ethic, determined to deliver packages and postage as accurately as possible. Somewhere near 1.3 million packages come into the Postal Service a day, specifically from countries abroad. Even with a wealth of post offices and shipping stores, the Postal Service cannot attend to the specifics of each and every international package, like what may be hidden inside. Problematically, in the era of a growing opioid crisis, there are a deadly number of international packages which contain highly potent opioid drugs like Fentanyl. Out of the million plus international packages which arrive on a daily basis, NPR’s Brian Naylor reports, only about a hundred are thoroughly inspected among nine individual international mail facilities. As a result, hundreds of thousands of packages which may carry fentanyl, get carried into America’s homes.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be prescribed and obtained legally in America by doctors, physicians, and pain management specialists. The fentanyl that has become a popular street drug, as well as many of its analog cousins, tend to come from China where drug cartels have obtained pharmaceutical formulas for fentanyl. Numerous versions of fentanyl have made their way to the United States, each one more potent and deadly than the next. Most recently, a type of opioid called “Gray Death” began circulating. A lethal combination of all the synthetic opioids produced in China, this drug caused instantaneous overdose, which could not be reversed by Narcan- the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Synthetic opioids are just one of the many synthetic drugs which have been arriving in mail. Sometimes referred to as “designer drugs”, synthetic substances can include any number of chemicals or compounds, making these drugs unpredictable, volatile, and dangerous. For years, social media platforms have unwittingly served as black market store fronts for synthetic drugs, which then get delivered by mail.

Bills are being proposed which could provide more support to the Postal Service for inspecting more packages.

Fentanyl is a deadly and dangerous drug. If someone in your life is abusing prescription or street market opioid drugs, time is precious to ask for help. O’Connor Professional Group

Let the O’Connor Professional Group take the guesswork out of putting a treatment plan together. Our combined personal and professional experience empowers us to empower you with a private consultation and customized plan of action for getting the help you need. Call us today for information: 617 910-3940