Fentanyl is a human-made opioid used to treat severe pain. The drug interacts with receptors in your brain to create feelings of pain relief, relaxation, contentment, and pleasure. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is illegal and can be sold as powder, nasal spray or pills that look like other prescription opioids. Fentanyl can be known by street names such as Apache, China Girl, Dance Fever or Goodfellas. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be prescribed by doctors for pain management (National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA, 2021).
US Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Cocaine, By Opioid Involvement, 1999-2023
Illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, are sometimes mixed with fentanyl, which makes the drugs more potent. If someone with a substance use disorder is unaware of the added fentanyl, this can put them at a higher risk of accidental overdose or death. Other strategies to prevent overdose deaths include lowering the entry barrier to addiction treatment, fentanyl test strips, supervised consumption sites and even prescription diamorphine (heroin).
How Can I Find Out If My Drugs Or Pills Contain Fentanyl?
Some researchers believe these changes are driving a national drop in drug deaths. We’re going to talk this through with NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann. The United States is in the middle of a devastating opioid epidemic, and its deadliest driver is fentanyl. This synthetic opioid, far more potent than heroin, is fueling a tragic and alarming surge in overdose deaths. As a synthetic opioid, fentanyl attaches to the body’s opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. When fentanyl binds to these receptors, it can create intense feelings of euphoria and relaxation, but it also carries a high risk for addiction and overdose.
Responding To An Overdose
This effect can lead to both physical and psychological dependence, even with short-term use. If you or someone you know is showing these symptoms, it is important to seek professional help immediately. Users and family members should have immediate access to naloxone (Narcan), an opioid agonist medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdose.
However, fentanyl exhibits vastly different properties and pharmacokinetics. Clinically, its most common use is as a sedative in intubated patients and in severe cases of pain in patients with renal failure due to its primarily hepatic elimination. At times, fentanyl may also be indicated to treat chronic pain patients who have developed tolerance to opiates. When used as a sedative, drug administration is most commonly via a drip.
What Are The Signs Of Fentanyl Overdose?
A 26-year-old man with a history of fentanyl abuse was found unresponsive in a gas station bathroom. Bystanders administered naloxone and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. He was taken to a hospital, where he spent 3 days in the intensive care unit. He went on to recover and was discharged to a rehabilitation program. If you unknowingly take fentanyl in another drug, you may overdose since fentanyl is so potent.
Overdose Deaths Involving Psychostimulants With Abuse Potential, 1999-2023
Recovery is possible with the proper support and treatment. While the dangers of addiction to fentanyl cannot be understated, one should not focus on addiction but on the dangers of the drug itself, with or without addiction. Overdose rates have skyrocketed for nonmedical use, whether in those addicted or from accidental deaths. An injection of naloxone can reverse the effects of the drug if given soon enough. A Narcan nasal spray is available over-the-counter and anyone can administer it. Naloxone is a lifesaving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids.
What Are The Health Risks Of Taking Fentanyl?
He does it when he wakes up and before he goes to work, and sometimes on breaks. It makes him drowsy, but he says people can’t usually tell he just used. To get extremely potent opioids, users turn to the dark web—and sometimes, Google. “This is just the first of many studies to come that can potentially stop the large trade of opioids,” Champagne-Langabeer said. “I think we proved that by using coding language, we are able to match their level of sophistication and hopefully one day control the source.”
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Naloxone (Narcan) is an antidote for fentanyl and other opioid overdoses. Naloxone helps reverse the respiratory depression of fentanyl. Naloxone can help prevent fentanyl-related deaths when it is given within a short period of time after an overdose. The nasal spray form of naloxone does not require a prescription and can be obtained from pharmacies. Naloxone acts quickly to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, but opioids last much longer than naloxone. Additional doses of naloxone are therefore sometimes necessary.
- As little as 2 milligrams or less may cause death, which is about the size of a few grains of salt.
- Bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to the hospital.
- One should always weigh the risks vs the benefits of a drug.
- Take the same steps as you would with any suspected opioid overdose.
- It’s also used as a low-cost additive to other drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, molly, and ecstasy.
“People are struggling from the effects of addiction,” said Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, senior author of a new investigation of illegal drug sales. “This study shines a light on the sophisticated methods of how the supply of opioids is coming into this country.” That said, while test strips are helpful, they’re not 100% effective. For drugs in pill forms, you might be testing a part of the pill that doesn’t have fentanyl in it. If you test one pill from a bottle or bag of pills, that one dose might not have fentanyl in it, but the others might. Although most often used to cut powdered opiates, fentanyl is also used to cut pills and drugs like cocaine, ketamine, methamphetamines (like ADHD pills), and benzodiazepines (like Xanax).
How Can A Person Be Sure That They’re Taking Real Fentanyl?
There is no way to know how much fentanyl is in something based on look, smell, or taste. Any opioid pill not from a pharmacy is highly likely to be fake and contain fentanyl. The biggest risk factor is that people are often exposed unintentionally and don’t know to take the proper precautions to use this drug safely. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues (some stronger than fentanyl, some weaker) are not “naloxone resistant.” They are opioids and will respond to naloxone if someone is overdosing. Explore our resource library for practical resources to promote the health and dignity of people affected by drug use.
National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse
- While fentanyl is legally manufactured and distributed in the U.S., it can be stolen, obtained with fraudulent prescriptions or made in illegal labs.
- More good news in the fight to cut drug overdose deaths here in the U.S.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that deaths and overdoses have occurred in people using both the brand-name product Duragesic and generic transdermal fentanyl patches.
- “As they’re progressing to fentanyl, they’re gonna have to use it more often in order to manage that withdrawal.”
- Many addiction experts say the supply of street fentanyl in the U.S. is drying up — a win in the fight against overdose deaths that many experts once viewed as unachievable.
One measure to prevent fentanyl overdose is distributing naloxone to bystanders. Naloxone can reverse an overdose as it occurs by blocking the effects of opioids. Fentanyl is both sold alone and often used as an adulterant because its high potency allows dealers to traffic smaller quantities but maintain the drug effects buyers expect. Manufacturers may also add bulking agents, like flour or baking soda, to fentanyl to increase supply without adding costs. As a result, it is much more profitable to cut a kilogram of fentanyl compared to a kilogram of heroin.
