The Dangers of Illicit Fentanyl – What You Need to Know
Illicit fentanyl was never meant to exist. Originally designed as a synthetic opioid to relieve post-surgical trauma or the pain of cancer patients, fentanyl is an ultra-powerful prescription painkiller for hospital use. Up to 100 times more potent than morphine, it is now a factor in most accidental drug overdoses. Unlike prescription fentanyl, the dosage of illicit fentanyl tends to be a mystery that is hard to gauge.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Synthetic opioid-involved death rates increased by over 56% from 2019 to 2020 and accounted for over 82% of all opioid-involved deaths in 2020. The rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids was more than 18 times higher in 2020 than in 2013.” Illicit fentanyl is behind this surge because of a lack of medical standards and drug contamination. Indeed, many people who overdose on illicit fentanyl do not even know they are taking the drug.
A Lethal Dose of Illicit Fentanyl
To illustrate the danger, the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory provides a picture that offers a comparison of the lethality of illicit fentanyl and heroin. On the left in the picture is a lethal dose of heroin, which is about thirty grams. In comparison, a lethal dose of illicit fentanyl for a grown adult male is a 3-milligram dose. Thus, if you mess up the amount of illicit fentanyl taken by a few minuscule grains, you overdose and die. Also, the same is true for prescription fentanyl.
Given the dangers of illicit fentanyl, Tarzana Treatment Centers (TTC) believes that families should not be taking any chances. First, every family should keep Naloxone nasal spray in their house. A medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, it saves lives in emergency situations. Naloxone is now available over the counter at pharmacies. Commonly sold under the brand names Narcan and Evizio, it often proves to be the difference between life and death when a person experiences an accidental overdose.
An Accidental Fentanyl Overdose = Professional Help
If an accidental overdose happens, saving a loved one’s life is only the first step. You need to access professional help in such extreme circumstances. If you believe a loved one is experimenting with fentanyl or any other illegal opioid, the time to act is right now. Please contact us immediately to get the help a loved one needs and potentially save a life. We have experience helping drug users recover from opioid use disorder and what seems like a hopeless state of addiction.
Moreover, most of the heroin sold on the street and marketed as heroin is now fentanyl. Since the Mexican drug cartels can produce fentanyl by the oil drum in illegal factories, they have more of the drug than they can sell as fentanyl. Thus, they offer a special form of heroin that is supposed to be super pure. Instead of being super pure heroin, it turns out to be illicit fentanyl. When addicts take the new drug the same way they take heroin, they overdose and die.
The Manufacturing of Illicit Fentanyl
As a synthetic opioid, the production of illicit fentanyl is now commonplace. However, illegal drug labs are far from precise. In contrast, the exacting standards in the manufacturing of prescriptions assure the dosage amount down to the 100th of a microgram.
Moreover, Illegal labs package the illicit fentanyl in kilo bricks and sell it to drug dealers. They break up the fentanyl into the amounts that they want to sell. Since they cut it with inactive agents, it becomes impossible to tell how much fentanyl is in a single dose. If the drug is cut more, there is less chance of an overdose. If it is not cut as much by a “generous” drug dealer, a person is likely to die. Basically, taking illicit fentanyl is like playing Russian Roulette.
Are you willing to take that chance with the life of a loved one? There is a reason why accidental drug overdoses have surpassed car accidents as the number one accidental form of death in the United States. Indeed, so many people are dying because of this drug.
The Reach of Fentanyl Across the United States
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, only 0.1% of the total U.S. population aged 12 and older misuses fentanyl products. I know that does not seem like a lot until you realize that it equals about 356,000 people. Moreover, tons of people are taking other drugs without knowing that illicit fentanyl is the active ingredient. Thus, the number of people at risk of overdose from illicit fentanyl is much higher.
Given such a risk, people no longer can afford to play Russian Roulette with drug experimentation and use. From middle school students to community leaders, fentanyl is taking lives across the country. However, TTC is here to help. Please learn more about our substance use disorder treatment services and access help for a loved one today. Indeed, more than ever before, we need to act now before it’s too late.