Harris County Public Health has unveiled new data revealing a staggering rise in drug-related deaths from 2018 to 2022. These findings underscore the devastating impact of the drug epidemic in America and have reignited debates over the role of border security policies in fueling the crisis.
The first statistic highlighted in the new data is the sharp rise in substance-involved deaths, which increased by 74.9 percent between 2018 and 2022. In 2018, there were 673 such deaths; by 2022, that number had climbed to 1,177.
While this increase is concerning on its own, the impact of substance abuse on children is even more striking.
In Harris County, substance-related deaths among youth surged by 340 percent. The highest rates were among individuals aged 15 to 19, where substance abuse deaths skyrocketed by 544 percent during the same period.
Breaking it down by gender, male youth experienced a staggering 505 percent increase in substance-related deaths compared to a 196 percent rise among female youth. Male youth were 1.6 times more likely to die from substance abuse than their female counterparts.
The types of drugs contributing to these deaths also shifted significantly from 2018 to 2022. In 2018, cocaine and methamphetamine were the leading substances linked to drug-related deaths. However, by 2022, fentanyl had become the dominant factor, with deaths involving the drug rising nearly 500 percent—from 97 deaths in 2018 to 572 in 2022.
In response to the growing fentanyl crisis, the Texas legislature passed Tucker’s Law last year. This law aims to educate students about the dangers of drugs, particularly fentanyl, by introducing a curriculum with up to 10 hours of education and designating a Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness week.
Despite these efforts, fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise in Harris County.
George Youngblood, who leads local recovery center Teen and Family Services, told KPRC2 that many young people are unknowingly exposed to fentanyl. “You’re seeing fentanyl oftentimes mixed in these press pills because it’s cheap. Even kids that don’t know they’re abusing fentanyl may test positive for it, and it surprises them as much as anyone else.”
On the federal level, Republican senators and representatives have emphasized the role border security plays in the drug crisis.
Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin stated earlier this year, “The solution is straightforward: the single most effective step we can take today to combat the fentanyl epidemic is to secure our border. Senate Republicans stand united in our efforts to enforce our immigration laws, reinstate the ‘remain-in-Mexico’ policy, end Obama-era catch and release, build the wall, crack down on Mexican cartels, and tighten asylum claims, among other protections.”
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