The Fentanyl alarm landed in Italy months ago. Now, the data that causes concern and fear is consolidated in the annual report on drug addiction transmitted to Parliament on June 25th. So much so that there is already a note from the General Directorate for Prevention of the Ministry of Health that has raised the alert level to 3, the maximum.
In Molise for now the circulation in the extra-health sector is considered limited “but it is there”, say those in the field. There have been no seizures of the substance but “the kids who use drugs talk about it”.
In the laboratories located throughout the territory to which the police refer in the event of kidnapping (that of Foggia for Campobasso) they will receive precise protocols for the analysis of the case and the staff will be trained.
Fentanyl – as stated in the factsheet of the Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services – is an analgesic with a potency at least 80 times greater than that of morphine. Its molecule and its derivatives are subject to international control as are those highly potentiated non-pharmaceutical derivatives, such as 3-methylfentanyl, synthesized illicitly and sold as “synthetic heroin” or mixed with heroin. In addition to its analgesic action, Fentanyl causes dizziness and euphoria (the latter less marked than heroin and morphine) and repeated use quickly develops dependence. Serious interactions develop when Fentanyl is mixed with heroin, cocaine, alcohol. Many deaths have occurred following the abuse of pharmacological products: the content of patches (used and not), taken through injections, smoking, orally or nasally, has often led to fatal consequences.
But even more fearful is the age of new drug users: they are often just 15 years old.healthy drugs and whether it is cocaine or new psychoactive substances, the drug market is now targeting young people both for consumption and even for dealing. In 2023, almost 960 thousand minors are involved, equal to 39% of the student population (4 out of 10), young people between 15 and 19 years old who report having consumed an illegal substance at least once in their life and over 680 thousand (28%) in the last year. They range from cocaine (with an increase from 1.8% to 2.2% compared to the previous year), stimulants (from 2.1% to 2.9%), hallucinogens (from 1.6% to 2%) and new psychoactive substances (from 5.8% to 6.4%). The substance most used by young people is cannabis, even if there is a decrease in prevalence compared to 2022 (22.2% against 23.7%).
The last press conference of the Campobasso Carabinieri, on the occasion of “Operation White Cat”, Colonel Luigi Dellegrazie said publicly: “In the context of this investigation, the fact that has struck the eye the most is the widespread use of drugs among the very young”. The same in the recent investigations of the Flying Squad: “In the context of our investigations – the head of the Flying Squad, Marco Graziano, reported on another occasion – we increasingly encounter minors who already consume drugs of a certain type. It is a worrying fact”.
And the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for anti-drug policies Alfredo Mantovano did not beat around the bush: the data shows a “pandemic spread of narcotic substances”, in addition to the lowering of the age of first approach, habitual use and the increase in the active ingredient.
It is no coincidence that the number of minors reported to the judicial authorities for drug-related crimes – involved in production, trafficking and illegal detention – has increased by 10%.
And as if that were not enough, both fentanyl and xylazine, a sedative usually used in veterinary medicine, are passed from hand to hand, in an uncontrolled manner even among the youngest. The spread of new psychoactive substances (NPS), as highlighted in the report, continues to create alarm even among operators in the sector because, “being synthetic compounds that are easily manipulated, they are difficult to detect and, not being immediately classified in the lists of substances prohibited by law, they often escape controls”.
