The U.S. opioid crisis has evolved into a fentanyl crisis. According to the Government Accountability Office, “synthetic opioids like fentanyl accounted for more than 19,000 of the nearly 64,000 overdose deaths in 2016.” And according to CDC data, 2017 saw more than 28,000 deaths involving synthetic opioids in the U.S., which is more than any other type of opioid.
