A new drug has made the headlines recently when it was announced that Prince died due to an overdose of Fentanyl. Everyone is talking about it but, really, what is Fentanyl and what makes it so dangerous?
What Exactly is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that has a rapid onset and a short duration of action and is usually prescribed to patients that are dealing with severe pain. It is 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and up to 50 times more potent than heroin. It can be fatal even if taken in small amounts. It’s prescribed to reduce patients’ perception of their pain and induces a state of euphoria and extreme relaxation. But Fentanyl has been being used since 1960. It was used as an anesthetic first and nowadays it can be consumed via an injection, a patch or by smoking it.
How Dangerous is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is considered a Schedule 2 drug. That means it’s a powerful drug, used for medical treatment but that can cause addiction. It’s the kind of drug that has a high potential for substance abuse and addiction.
As mentioned, it can be fatal even if taken in small amounts, and accordingly with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s usually mixed with cocaine, heroin, or even both when sold illegally. Sometimes the user doesn’t even know about these drug mixes and that makes the consumption even more dangerous.
An overdose of this drug causes severe respiratory depression or even arrest. The person’s breathing slows down or simply stops altogether. One of the most dangerous things about fentanyl is that it’s complicated to find out what should be considered a standard dose. A dose that can provide medicinal pain relief for some people will be lethal for others. Due to this and considering how strong the drug is, this is one of the most dangerous drugs available.
And it’s a highly addictive drug. People who have been treated with opioids for some time, develop some tolerance, meaning the doses need to get higher and higher to achieve the same pain relief. And when doses escalate, this can lead to substance abuse and addiction and, of course, the risks are always higher.
In March 2015 the Drug Enforcement Administration sent an alert about fentanyl and its’ dangers. At that time, the Drug Enforcement Administration said that the Mexican authorities had shut down multiple labs that were responsible for some of the fentanyl that was seized in the United States in 2014. According to a New York Times article, fentanyl was becoming a “drug of choice” for cartels.
Cartels had found a way to produce fentanyl cheaply and easily than they were producing heroin. And at that time they were producing the drug at a record pace. This kind of drug is already a dangerous drug when it’s prescribed by a doctor for extreme pain relief. Having it on the streets on the black market is a serious threat and can be a problem for authorities in the near term.
If not stopped soon, Fentanyl can become a new epidemic drug. And if that happens, the consequences for addicts and society as a whole will be much higher than the current problems society has with heroin and cocaine. (Please note: this article was originally written in 2016, and clearly envisioned the epidemic of fentanyl that has now enveloped America. With over 100,000 overdose deaths recorded for the first time in a twelve-month period, it is clear that the United States has failed to prepare adequately for the flood of this dangerous synthetic opioid in our country. Please visit our additional resources on fentanyl and the widespread efforts to make both Naloxone (Narcan) and fentanyl testing strips more available, for the purposes of harm reduction in stemming this deadly tide.
Should you or a loved one suffer from dependence on fentanyl, please reach out to our experienced, compassionate Admissions team today, and put the constant risk of an overdose death in your rearview mirror. The time for your journey to recovery is now, seize the moment!