Research paper Draft 1

Carlos LlumitasiSPRING 2023-Writing for The Science (ENG 21003)

The City College of New York

Professor: Brittany Zayas

05/02/23

“Fentanyl and the Opioid Crisis, The Impact on Society.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that does not come from natural opioid-like morphine, instead, fentanyl is made through chemical synthesis in a laboratory. Moreover, fentanyl is many times stronger than heroin and morphine. Fentanyl has been used as a prescription medication to treat severe pain, such as that experienced by cancer patients, but it can also be produced illegally and sold on the black market and is an extremely addictive and dangerous drug that can result in respiratory problems, coma, death, and the most common problem fentanyl addiction. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are becoming more popular in recent years causing thousands of deaths because of overdoses in the USA. Fentanyl can enter the country in two ways, legally and illegally. One way Fentanyl enters the country is through pharmaceutical companies transporting and manufacturing fentanyl legally and legitimately to distribute it to people who need treatment for their pains. fentanyl is produced illegally in other countries such as China and Mexico, when it arrives in the United States, it is mixed with other drugs such as heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine and sold at cheaper prices. Making fentanyl illegal in the United States increases its danger and addictiveness. Fentanyl causes health and mental problems, but the reason people use it is for money problems, people don’t have enough to live, or depression. Hundreds of other people, however, became addicted to fentanyl without realizing it because some pharmaceutical companies falsified documents to make fentanyl appear safe for their health. Fentanyl affects the mind and society, causing destruction in people’s and family’s lives, this problem has grown even worse with the recent decline in employment across the country. This mainly affects the largest states, such as California or Las Vegas, transforming some of their towns into lugers dubbed “the zombie city,” so-called because people addicted to fentanyl exhibit irrational behavior and behave like zombies. In these states, a public health alert has been issued.