Open figure viewer
Subject
Fentanyl.
Significance
The synthetic painkiller fentanyl has become central to the US opioid epidemic and is spreading throughout the rest of the developed world and beyond. Highly potent, and easy to produce and hide, it offers strong highs for users, huge profits for dealers, and poses serious challenges for health services and law enforcement.
Impacts
As governments introduce restrictions on drug ingredients, manufacturers will tweak recipes, developing new products.
Developing countries will be slow to tackle fentanyl manufacturing, particularly if the drug is not perceived as a domestic threat.
The spread of synthetic opiates is unlikely to hit global heroin demand, which will remain strong.
Keywords:
International,
INT,
China,
United States,
Australia,
Estonia,
Finland,
Europe,
international relations,
politics,
social,
health,
narcotics,
police,
security,
manufacturing,
crime,
corruption
© Oxford Analytica 2020. All rights reserved. This content contains general information about geopolitical, macroeconomic and social developments or (where stated) other matters. It does not contain advice or recommendations that may be relied on. Where links to external websites are provided, this does not indicate that Oxford Analytica or Emerald agree with, endorse or have checked for accuracy the contents of said sites.
2018
You do not currently have access to this content.
