Source: BBC
The paramedics from Tijuana arrived at the bleak 'La Perla' tavern in the wee hours of the morning to a sad scene.
A stocky man lay on the floor, and his slumped companion lay in a chair; both were unconscious and barely holding on to life.
Fentanyl overdoses are becoming more common every nightshift, according to paramedic Gabriel Valladares, who reports that the city's emergency services were once again dispatched.
It's deteriorating rapidly. It's always fentanyl, and we're seeing more and more of it, he says.
The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin and is significantly complicating the work of the paramedics.
Every night, we typically see two or three cases of overdose. According to Gabriel, "it's likely because they all took the same substance" as there have been cases where six or seven people were affected in just one call.
While some members of the team started administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the two victims, others got doses of Narcan ready, the medication that can reverse a fentanyl overdose.
It is possible that neither of the men realized they were taking fentanyl. Mexican criminal gangs have started processing opiates into harder drugs like cocaine due to their low production and transportation costs.
This city on the Mexican border is experiencing a full-blown drug crisis. However, President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has downplayed the gravity of the situation.
Here, we don't manufacture fentanyl. He stated last year that fentanyl is not consumed on this premises. In response to that contentious assertion, he has pledged to propose fresh legislation to Congress in an effort to outlaw the use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
Those on the front lines in Tijuana are worried that it might be insufficient.
According to Dr. César González Vaca, the head of the state's forensic services, his agency has been conducting fentanyl tests on all deceased individuals brought into their morgues in the border towns of Mexicali and Tijuana for more than a year.
According to him, the survey found that 3 percent of the bodies in Tijuana and 1 in 4 in Mexicali contained fentanyl.
The more time passes near the border, the more people are using this substance, according to Dr. González Vaca.
"Unfortunately, we can't compare to other states in the Republic as, in Baja California, we're the first state to carry out this study," he adds, but he urges his colleagues around the country to assist develop a clearer national picture.
Those who help the homeless in Tijuana have also heard that the president has failed to grasp the gravity of Mexico's situation.
Needle exchange and medical treatments are offered by Prevencasa, a harm reduction center in the city. From their disposal unit, director Lily Pacheco chooses two used needles and two empty drug vials at random.
Everything found on the four pieces of drug paraphernalia is fentanyl-positive. The city is covered in it, according to Lily.
"Fentanyl is real, no doubt about it. To imply differently would be to ignore this fact. The testing strips, she points out, are the proof.
Part of that proof also includes the many fentanyl overdose deaths that have occurred. The problem will not be solved if ignored. In fact, casualties will persist.
As we wrap out our conversation, a picture of the issue emerges that is even more graphic than the fentanyl tests on discarded needles.
On the street, someone is overdosing, and Lily is hurriedly brought outdoors. After losing her federal funding, she saved the man's life by carrying Narcan, which was supplied by a US charity. He was fortunate. Unfortunately, a lot of people did not win.
The United States, which is home to the largest black market for illicit substances in the world, has been particularly impacted by the fentanyl pandemic. Overdoses claimed the lives of almost 70,000 individuals in the region in 2017.
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