assessing drug harms and drug facts
Drug Policy Alliance - Facts About Fentanyl (2023)
Fentanyl Facts
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, a powerful pain killer that improves the quality of life of people experience severe chronic pain, and a common adulterant added to street drugs in quantities that are potentially - likely - lethal.
Fentanyl increasess the risks of overdoses and particularly overdose deaths. That much most everyone agrees with. But "overdose" means taking too much of a drug leading to harmful outcomes. Because of fentanyl is, according to the CDC, "...up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine" thus it is all to easy to take too much.
Is the issue about fentanyl's lethality? Or that street drugs are adulterated putting users at risk?
The National Harm Reduction Coalition highlights:
- Fentanyl is partly responsible for the current overdose crisis in the U.S., combined with a lack of resources and the criminalization of people who use drugs.
- Fentanyl moving through the street market comes in the form of a white, gray or tan powder and can be injected, smoked, or snorted. It has also been found in other drugs, like heroin, meth, cocaine, and pressed pills.
- Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues (some stronger, some weaker) are not “naloxone resistant.” They are opioids and will respond to naloxone in the event of an overdose.
- You cannot overdose simply by touching powdered fentanyl. This is a common myth, but fentanyl must be introduced into the bloodstream or a mucus membrane in order for someone to feel the effects. Transdermal fentanyl patches exist and are used primarily in medical settings, but are uniquely formulated to be absorbed by the skin.