ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2024
Law enforcement fentanyl seizures and overdose mortality in US counties, 2013-2020.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association between state cannabis laws and opioid outcomes: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Pooled it
- Proportion of fentanyl reports in illicit drug seizures and nonfatal overdose emergency department visits in the United States, 2021-2024.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Cannabis legalization and law enforcement drug seizures: a state-level analysis of cannabis policy effects on cannabis seizures in the United States, 2010-2023.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Illicit drug supply, naloxone availability, and overdose mortality in the fentanyl era: a systematic review.Health affairs scholar · 2026Review
- Buprenorphine initiation from fentanyl using low-dose intramuscular ketamine: a pilot study.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- How population-level drug supply data are integrated into health outcomes research: a scoping review.Epidemiologic reviews · 2026Article
- Proportion of Fentanyl Reports in Illicit Drug Seizures and Opioid Mortality.JAMA health forum · 2026Article
- Disparities and trends in drug-related adverse reaction mortality in the United States, 1999-2020.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2026Article
- Generating Timely Estimates of Overdose Deaths for the US Using Urine Drug Test Data.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- An analysis of the size of law enforcement seizures of illicit fentanyl in the United States, 2018-2023.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- How do restrictions on opioid prescribing, harm reduction, and treatment coverage policies relate to opioid overdose deaths in the United States in 2013-2020? An application of a new state opioid policy scale.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe spread of illicitly manufactured fentanyl is driving steep increases in US overdose deaths. Fentanyl seizures are correlated with state-level opioid-related mortality; however, more granular seizure surveillance information has the potential to better inform overdose prevention and harm reduction efforts.
methodsUsing data on fentanyl pill and powder seizures from High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), we tested associations between seizure prevalence and overdose mortality, from 2013 to 2020. The primary exposure-seizure burden-was constructed by identifying counties having high (above the median) prevalence of pill, powder, or combined pill/powder seizure burden per 100,000 population. Poisson models accounted for county demographic, law enforcement and time trends.
resultsDuring the timeframe, there were 13,842 fentanyl seizures in 606 US counties. In adjusted models, counties with a high burden of pill or powder fentanyl seizures, or both (combined pills/powder) exhibited higher total overdose mortality than non-high burden counties (pills adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.10 [95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.08, 1.12]; powder aPR 1.12 [CI: 1.11, 1.13]; combined pills/powder aPR: 1.27 [CI: 1.25, 1.29]). A similar pattern of associations with fentanyl seizure burden was noted for overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (pills [aPR]: 0.99 [CI: 0.96, 1.02]; powder aPR 1.29 [CI: 1.27, 1.30]; combined pills/powder aPR 1.55 [CI: 1.52, 1.58]).
conclusionsLaw enforcement data on fentanyl seizures predicts drug overdose mortality at the county-level. Integrating these data with more traditional epidemiologic surveillance approaches has the potential to inform community overdose response efforts.
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