Fentanyl and similar compounds like carfentanil are powerful synthetic opioids 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl should only be prescribed by doctors who are experienced in treating pain in cancer patients. Fentanyl may cause serious breathing problems or death if it is used by people who are not being treated with other narcotic medications or who are not tolerant to narcotic medications. Fentanyl exerts its pain-relieving effects by acting on opioid receptors that occur naturally in the body. Endorphins, the substances in the body that normally bind to opioid receptors and naturally relieve pain, are also connected with “pleasure centers” in the brain.
Introducing Data Fabric
An overdose happens when a drug produces serious adverse effects and life-threatening symptoms. When people overdose on fentanyl, their breathing can slow or stop. This can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain, a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia can lead to a coma, permanent brain damage, and even death. Because the drug is less expensive than other opioids, people making it illegally commonly mix it into drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamines.
- Fentanyl is estimated to be about 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as a pain reliever.
- ORE is a central collection of communication materials and educational resources about opioid misuse, addiction, treatment, and overdose prevention.
- Learn more about law enforcement and overdose response here.
- Potent benzodiazepines, or tranquilizers, are now further contaminating the illicit fentanyl supply, causing more complicated overdoses.
- In addition to receiving treatment for a substance use disorder, people who use illegal drugs can help prevent overdoses by using fentanyl test strips.
FOX26 News confirmed with Fresno Unified School District beginning this year all middle and high schools will carry Narcan. The reversing agent is administered through a nasal spray reversing the effect of an opioid overdose, in particular, fentanyl. For example, a Fentanyl-laced Percocet M-30 pill can cost the buyer between $20 to $30 a pill. The seller will also feature Xanax, “MUHA MINIS”, which is lingo used for vape cartridges, starting at $40 a cartridge. In most cases, you cannot know if someone has used fentanyl.
Harm Reduction Approaches
The direct payments from vendors to suppliers, and subsequent payouts from ASAP Market following sales, is shown on the Elliptic Investigator graph below. ASAP Market showing a listing of fentanyl, despite supposedly banning the sale of the drug. If your loved one is struggling with opioid use, the resources below may be helpful. Manufacturers use chemicals to make a substance with the same chemical structure as poppies to make fentanyl in a lab. Call an ambulance right away if you suspect you or someone you’re with may have taken an overdose.
How Does Fentanyl Make People Feel?
Again in 2011, both deaths from illegal fentanyl use and police encounters with illegal fentanyl use rose significantly. Fentanyl comes as a lozenge on a handle, a sublingual (underneath the tongue) tablet, and a buccal (between the gum and cheek) tablet to dissolve in the mouth. Fentanyl is used as needed to treat breakthrough pain but not more often than four times a day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Comparable to fentanyl, fentanyl analogs have similar chemical structure and effects. Common pharmaceutical industry fentanyl analogs used during surgery include sufentanil (Sufenta), alfentanil (Alfenta) and remifentanil (Ultiva).
Symptoms Of Overdose May Include The Following:
A person with opioid use disorder has an increased risk of overdose. Carrying naloxone can provide them with an extra layer of protection from overdose. A healthcare professional may prescribe medications such as buprenorphine and methadone, which affect the same receptors in the brain as those affected by fentanyl. A doctor may also choose to prescribe naltrexone, which stops the effect fentanyl has on the body.
Harm Reduction Needs You Join The Movement
Some people who misuse fentanyl remove the gel contents of a fentanyl patch and then inject or ingest the contents. Others might freeze patches and then place frozen pieces under the tongue. The Stop Overdose website educates drug users on fentanyl, naloxone, polysubstance use, and dealing with stigma. Illegal fentanyl, however, has an unknown amount of fentanyl and may be mixed with other drugs, which may result in harmful behaviors. Over time, however, the brain adapts to fentanyl, making it difficult for someone to experience positive emotions without the drug.
Stop Overdose
Illicitly produced fentanyl is sold alone or combined with heroin and other substances. If you suspect someone is overdosing on fentanyl, call emergency services immediately. If available, administer naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse opioid overdose.
Spread The WordOne Pill Can Kill
Accessing the dark web can only be done using specific browsers, such as TOR Browser. Some WA State syringe services programs can provide fentanyl test strips. Fentanyl overdose often comes on much faster and stronger than a typical opioid overdose. In some cases, a person’s chest may become very stiff (called “chest wall rigidity” or “wooden chest”). This can make it harder for the victim to breathe and for a responder to do chest compressions. Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, chairman of the subcommittee, said fentanyl had surpassed heroin, prescription drugs and car accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in the state.
Do not let anyone else use your medication, even if he or she has the same symptoms that you have. Selling or giving away this medication may cause severe harm or death to others and is against the law. In case of overdose, remove the fentanyl from the victim’s mouth and call local emergency services at 911. Fentanyl comes as two different transmucosal products and several other types of products. The medication in each product is absorbed differently by the body, so one product cannot be substituted for any other fentanyl product. If you are switching from one product to another, your doctor will prescribe a dose that is best for you.
Fentanyl has been linked to a surge in overdose deaths in recent years, particularly in the United States. Fentanyl is estimated to be about 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as a pain reliever. It is an effective medication for managing severe pain when properly prescribed and monitored by a clinician. Fentanyl can be illegally mixed into other substances, including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and methamphetamine (NIDA, 2021). This combination can result in an individual consuming a much stronger substance than they are used to, resulting in overdose and possibly death. The DEA has found an average of 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl in the pills they test (DEA, 2024).
Fentanyl Is Available In A Variety Of Forms
The emergency and referral resources listed above are available to individuals located in the United States and are not operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA is a biomedical research organization and does not provide personalized medical advice, treatment, counseling, or legal consultation. Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. Opioids are a class of drugs that include both prescription medicines such as morphine and illegal drugs like heroin. Accidental opioid overdoses cause more deaths in the United States than traffic accidents and suicides, she noted in a university news release.
If you buy drugs illegally, there is a chance fentanyl can be in them. People sell illegal fentanyl as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays, or as pills that look like other prescription opioids. Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin (DEA, n.d.). It is so potent that just 2 milligrams can cause someone to experience a fatal overdose (DEA, 2024). An individual’s tolerance to fentanyl will impact the amount required to cause a fatal overdose. Opioid medication enters the brain and binds to opioid receptors, restricting pain signals and causing relaxation (Oesterle, 2021).
