Representative Schweikert Hosts Roundtable on Fentanyl Research

Congressman David Schweikert (R-06) hosted a “Roundtable Discussion on the Fentanyl Crisis” on the effects of fentanyl, fentanyl research, and trafficking of the drug. Participants included law enforcement, local, state, and federal officials. Dr. Todd Vanderah, Director of Pharmacology and the Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center at the University of Arizona participated in the roundtable.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid similar to morphine, though much more potent. According to the National Institutes of Health, synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are “the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths in the United States” (NIH).