Fentanyl Crisis: Users Consume More As Street Pills Lose Potency

The amount of fentanyl some people are consuming might seem shocking, as just one pill with over 2 milligrams of the drug can be deadly. However, staff at treatment centers in Sonora, Mexico, and Arizona say it's now common for users to take such high doses.

Kevin González, a former fentanyl user, said he hadn't seen anyone overdose in years or heard of friends experiencing one. González had used fentanyl and other opioids for over a decade in Phoenix, Arizona, before checking himself into an addiction treatment center in Sonora.

"I was consuming 50 fentanyl pills a day, sometimes smoking four at a time. They weren't enough," he told InSight Crime. He had checked into the treatment center in Nogales, a Mexican city near the U.S. border after his body stopped responding to the usual doses.

The withdrawal symptoms -- pain, anxiety, and sleeplessness -- were unbearable. González had built up a tolerance after years of using fentanyl, which meant he needed higher doses to feel any effect.

He also adopted safety measures, like controlling his doses, using drugs with others nearby, and always carrying naloxone, a medication that can reverse overdoses.

According to him, another key reason he avoided overdoses was that the fentanyl in the pills he bought on the street had become weaker over time.

"They used to be more loaded. Now it's very hard to find one with enough potency," he said.

Over the past year, there has been a massive drop in fentanyl overdose deaths. From July 2023 to July 2024, the CDC reported a 17% decrease nationwide. Experts say more research is needed to understand the reasons behind this trend, as it might differ across regions.

However, certain factors related to the drug supply may offer some explanations. The drop in overdoses may be linked to the increasing availability of fentanyl pills, often called "M30s."

In Mexico, authorities have found that criminal groups are producing M30 pills in large quantities. For instance, on Dec. 3, a record 20 million pills were seized in Sinaloa. Reports also show a rise in pill-making operations along Mexico's northern border.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration this year found that five out of every 10 fentanyl pills contained a lethal dose. This wass an improvement compared to 2023 when seven out of 10 pills had lethal amounts.

On the other hand, the purity of fentanyl powder is much less consistent. Some doses contain almost no fentanyl, while others have up to 85% concentration, according to the latest DEA data.