No drug has had a greater impact on the modern overdose crisis than fentanyl. The synthetic opioid is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it can be lethal in doses as small as 2 mg, the size of a few grains of sand. Although US deaths from synthetic opioids have decreased, from about 49 000 in 2024 to approximately 38 000 in 2025, fentanyl overdose remains the leading cause of death in the US for people aged 18 to 44 years and has prompted researchers to race to develop prevention tools.
Link to the full article here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2850522
