Street Fentanyl Means Unpredictable Dosages and Drug Contamination
Street fentanyl is one of the most dangerous drugs in history. Unlike heroin, the incredible potency of fentanyl increases the danger by fifty to a hundredfold. Indeed, imagine a painkiller that is fifty to a hundred times more powerful than heroin, the traditional boogieman of illegal drugs. As a result, overdosing on fentanyl is frighteningly easy because fatal doses are so small. If taken in the exact amounts as heroin, the use of fentanyl almost always is an overdose waiting to happen. Moreover, drug users tend to take more, not less, when abusing drugs.
Designed as a hospital medication for post-surgical recovery or advanced cancer pain relief, pharmaceutical fentanyl was never meant to be publicly accessible. From doctors’ perspective, such a drug helps patients under challenging circumstances. Hence, as a formulation for a professional medical setting, a synthetic opioid makes sense. As an illegal drug made in homemade labs or by drug cartels, street fentanyl is pure insanity.
As a substance use disorder treatment services provider, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) understands the damage that street fentanyl is doing nationwide. Being part of the treatment community, people in the industry are recounting stories about people dying from street fentanyl overdoses. Given the danger, TTC makes raising awareness in our communities about the dangers of street fentanyl a priority. We train staff in using Naloxone, the overdose reversal drug while providing free training for community members.
Unpredictable Dosages and Street Fentanyl
In a hospital setting, prescription fentanyl comes in carefully regulated doses. Most fentanyl tablets range from a 100 microgram dose up to 1300 micrograms. If a person has a low tolerance or body weight, a micro-dose of 2 milligrams is most likely fatal. When looking at street fentanyl, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made a startling discovery. Almost half of all street fentanyl pills contain at least that dose, with many having even more. Indeed, many pills contained more than double the lethal dosage of street fentanyl for most people.
As the DEA explains in a Facts About Fentanyl article, “Producing illicit fentanyl is not an exact science. Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage. DEA analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet.” In this article, the DEA relies on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With Help from the CDC, the DEA Outlines the Following Facts:
- “Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram.”
- “One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.”
- In the past year, “Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) rose 55.6 percent.”
- “136 people die every day from an opioid overdose.”
- “It is also possible to take a pill knowing it contains fentanyl, but with no way of knowing if it contains a lethal dose.”
Given these facts outlined by the DEA and the CDC, preventing street fentanyl use is a top priority. Even when drug dealers claim to weigh and measure the doses of street fentanyl in the pills, they lack the tools and precision. When dealing with microdoses, exceedingly small mistakes lead to huge negative outcomes.
Street Fentanyl and Illegal Drug Contamination
A further danger when rolling the dice with street fentanyl is drug contamination. Since fentanyl requires such small doses, drug dealers often find themselves with more than they can sell. Indeed, such a surplus of street fentanyl is a significant issue with the large Mexican drug cartel. Either making street fentanyl in illegal Mexican labs or importing the drug from Chinese factories; they suffer a surplus. Wanting to make more money, they contaminate other drugs with fentanyl. Thus, street fentanyl becomes the secret ingredient in many other illegal drugs.
75% of illegal benzodiazepine tranquilizers like Xanax and Valium confiscated in police raids are 100% fake. Although the pills look like Xanax or Valium, they have none of the active ingredients of those pharmaceutical drugs. Instead, the active ingredient is street fentanyl. Thus, because of drug contamination, many people are dying from fentanyl overdoses without knowing they are taking fentanyl.
In Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, police seized a bag of 500 Jolly Rancher-like candies shaped into what looked like gummy bears. All these candies were laced with deadly street fentanyl.
Given the danger, parents need to be aware and act if a threat enters the lives of a loved one, particularly a teenager or adolescent. Tarzana Treatment Centers is here to help. If you need to know more about treatment options for street fentanyl, please contact us today.