Fentanyl
Fentanyl is the most dangerous illicit drug in the world.
What is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain after major surgery and in critical care settings. It is one of the strongest approved pain medications available. It is most commonly prescribed when other pain medicines do not work well enough, or when a patient is physically tolerant to other opioids.
Due to its potency, only a small amount is needed to produce significant effects (usually a microgram dosage). This extreme potency is one reason why fentanyl is involved in so many overdoses. A slight measurement error can result in life-threatening consequences.
Fentanyl is the major driver of overdose deaths in the United States.
100 times stronger than morphine.
50 times stronger than heroine.
If it’s that powerful, why is it legal?
Fentanyl is produced and used very carefully and delicately in medical care settings.
Illegally, fentanyl becomes a killer. Producing illicit fentanyl is not a careful science. Most are completely unaware of how dangerous fentanyl really is and how little is needed to become lethal. Doses of fentanyl are mixed into other drugs such as heroin, meth, and cocaine, making the chance of death much higher as well as the chance of severe, irreversible addiction. Many overdose deaths that occur from other drugs occur because these drugs are laced with fentanyl. It is very likely for a drug consumer to use a pill without knowing it contains fentanyl.
Furthermore, nearly half of illicit fentanyl pills contain a lethal dose. Illicit fentanyl is usually manufactured in South America and smuggled across the border to be distributed and sold. Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
Shown is the amount of fentanyl capable of being a lethal dosage
If it’s so dangerous, why do people use it?
Like many drugs, fentanyl is abused primarily for its euphoric effects. Upon ingestion, it rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier, acting as an intravenous anesthetic. It is sometimes used as a complement or substitute to heroin.
Fentanyl is both taken orally and injected. Both forms have been highly misused. As the use of fentanyl increases since the early 2000s, overdose deaths do as well.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, more than 56,000 deaths involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone) occurred in the United States, which is more deaths than from any other drug class. ”
Information was obtained from NIH, ADF, DEA, DEA Facts, and Rehab Spot