San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order Nov. 29 to increase public awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to prevent the sale and use of the drug in the city.
According to officials, deaths from an accidental fentanyl overdoses—a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine—has increased 10-fold the last five years.
Previously, the San Diego Board of Supervisors declared fentanyl overdoses a public health crisis in June. Of over 800 such deaths in the county in 2021 nearly half—or 42 percent—occurred in the City of San Diego alone….