What is fentanyl? 5 questions answered about Dayton’s opioid epidemic

The Dayton region is now known, as much as anything, as the epicenter of the nation’s opioid epidemic.

The impact of the epidemic has scarred the community in many ways – its image, a generation of children growing up in addicted households, community resources to fight addiction and crime. The Dayton Daily News kicks off a new project – we’re calling it the Path Forward — in which this newspaper will seek solutions to guide our community through this and other important issues we face.

» UNMATCHED COVERAGE: 10 change makers weigh in: How can Dayton recover from opioid crisis?

Here are five questions answered about the opioid epidemic in Dayton:

1. What is fentanyl? 

The label “overdose capital” came after powerful drugs such as fentanyl and carfentanil — an elephant tranquilizer — began to saturate the streets of Dayton and its nearby suburbs. In a single month — May 2017 — Montgomery County logged 81 drug overdose deaths, more than half the usual total for an entire year.

Fentanyl and fentanyl related compounds such as carfentanil and acetyl fentanyl are synthetic opioids, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. "While fentanyl was first synthesized more than 50 years ago and first emerged as a drug threat in the 1990's, it has only been in the past few years that it has become as a widespread - and fast evolving - threat," according to the DEA.

» THE PATH FORWARD: Dayton Daily News Investigates digs into the region’s most pressing issues

2. How many people are dealing with substance abuse issues in the region?

Casey Steckling, a social worker who founded the non-profit, Dayton Recovers, estimates as many as 100,000 people in the Miami Valley are dealing with substance abuse disorders. Others put the estimate at anywhere from 8 to 10 percent of the population. If even 10 percent of that group received treatment and successfully moved into long-term recovery, Steckling said, Dayton would look drastically different.

3. Is the opioid crisis new to the region?

Before fentanyl started killing people in record numbers, it was easier for people not to pay attention, she said. But it became impossible to ignore in Ohio when people young and old, black and white and from every conceivable educational background began dying at a rate of 11 people a day, throwing whole families into chaos and stretching the ability of communities to provide basic public services.

"We historically both in the nation and in the state and in Montgomery County, have struggled with addiction for decades," said Jodi Long, director of treatment and supportive services for the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board. "What brought addiction to the forefront was the number of people dying."

4. How does the crisis impact the community economically?

The addiction crisis and its many tentacles is extracting a huge public price tag. Congress spent the better part of the past two weeks debating funding measures — efforts that will no doubt add to the more than $1 billion sent to the states over the past two years to cover treatment costs.

» THE PATH FORWARD: Can Dayton go from ‘overdose capital’ to a model for recovery?

5. Why is the Dayton Daily News investigating this? 

Our biggest challenges may still be ahead: How can the so-called overdose capital become a model for recovery and hope? And how would we get there? Starting today, the Dayton Daily News will help find the answers. We are investigating all facets of the epidemic and seeking solutions – and your ideas — as we move from the bleakness of the drug crisis toward a recovered community.