A nonprofit assisting individuals struggling with addiction along the border between Mexico and the United States has warned about the prevalence of fentanyl use among migrants arriving in Ciudad Juárez. Some migrants already had drug-related issues upon arrival. The new and dangerous drug is fentanyl mixed with other drugs in Juárez, according to Julián Rojas Padilla, coordinator of Harm Reduction in the Compañeros Program, a civil association that supports consumers who want to quit substances.
Rojas stated that without job opportunities, support networks, and vulnerable conditions, migrants are exposed to experimenting with other types of substances or returning to their place of origin or consumed there for a while. The warning comes as American pressure to curb fentanyl trafficking from Mexico intensifies. Mexico claims that the substance and its chemical precursors enter the nation via Asia, while President Andrés Manuel López Obrador disputes the existence of a problem with drug consumption.
The National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions (Conasama) reported that 430 people received treatment for fentanyl use in 2023, a 29% rise from 333 patients in the previous year. The majority of these people live in northern states like Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Sonora.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 150 times more potent than heroin, making it a lethal substance. Users of other drugs contaminated with fentanyl can overdose, increasing the risk to the migrant population since they cannot know if the material they are obtaining is tainted with the potent chemical.
Rojas stated that without job opportunities, support networks, and vulnerable conditions, migrants are exposed to experimenting with other types of substances or returning to their place of origin or consumed there for a while. The warning comes as American pressure to curb fentanyl trafficking from Mexico intensifies. Mexico claims that the substance and its chemical precursors enter the nation via Asia, while President Andrés Manuel López Obrador disputes the existence of a problem with drug consumption.
The National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions (Conasama) reported that 430 people received treatment for fentanyl use in 2023, a 29% rise from 333 patients in the previous year. The majority of these people live in northern states like Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Sonora.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 150 times more potent than heroin, making it a lethal substance. Users of other drugs contaminated with fentanyl can overdose, increasing the risk to the migrant population since they cannot know if the material they are obtaining is tainted with the potent chemical.
