How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US - BBC News

The epidemic's staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Kim BlakeImage caption, Sean Blake died from a fentanyl overdose in 2017. He is one of thousands of Americans who lost their lives to the country's staggering overdose crisis.By Nadine YousifBBC NewsMore Americans than ever are dying from fentanyl overdoses as the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic crashes through every community, in every corner of the country.

It was six years ago that Kim Blake's son Sean died from an accidental fentanyl overdose in Burlington, Vermont. He was 27 years old.

"Every time I hear of a loss to substance use, my heart breaks a little more," Ms Blake wrote in a blog dedicated to her son in 2021.

"Another family shattered. Forever grieving the loss of dreams and celebrations."

That year, the US witnessed a grim milestone: for the first time ever, drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 people across the country in one single year.