From the 2018 Sentinel Site Community reports:
There are clear regional differences in the use and availability of both fentanyl and other synthetic opioids and methamphetamine, according to the 2018 NDEWS Sentinel Community Site (SCS) Drug Use Patterns and Trends reports. The reports are prepared annually by experienced Sentinel Community Epidemiologists (SCEs) representing 12 sites across the United States. The SCEs review available local data including drug-related intoxication deaths, drug treatment admissions, drug seizures, emergency department visits, poison center exposure calls, and ethnographic information. In 2018, the SCEs were asked to use this information to prepare overviews of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and prescription opioids.
Eight of the Sentinel Community Epidemiologists from across the United States reported increases in fentanyl-involved drug intoxication deaths. In four of these eight sites, fentanyl and/or a fentanyl analog were found in more than half of all drug intoxication deaths in 2017: Maine (59%), New York City (57%), Philadelphia (70%), and Wayne County, Detroit (62%). See the reports:
