Drug overdoses have been seemingly taking more and more lives every year. Many of the overdoses are partly due to a more intense drug than the user initially took called fentanyl. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is highly dangerous. Translucent, odorless, and tasteless, it is impossible for opioid users to know when they are getting fentanyl when they buy heroin on the street. Reports from the streets where heroin addicts live reveal that even the most severe of addicts are terrified of feeding their heroin addiction with drugs laced with fentanyl which could kill them. Fentanyl wasn’t always a villain of street drugs. It is important to know about fentanyl and how it can affect you and your loved ones’ lives.
History of Fentanyl
The high potency drug, estimated to be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, is available in prescription form. Either prescribed in patches to be applied to the skin or in pill form, fentanyl was created to serve patients who did not respond to morphine-based medications like normal opioids. It was mostly reserved for patients with severe pain after major medical prcedures.
The formula for fentanyl made its way into the hands of overseas manufacturers who started producing the synthetic drug and many of its even more potent analogs, for cheaper. Using the substance as a filler in cocaine, benzodiazepines, and heroin, fentanyl started causing clusters of overdose deaths around the country. For those who used the drugs and could tolerate it, fentanyl created an entirely new population of the opioid epidemic. Today, addicts and their families live in fear of the “bad batch” of heroin that could come through and take the life of someone precious.
Dangers of Fentanyl
Fentanyl has claimed the lives of countless Americans and even notable figures. Fentanyl is a dangerous contribution to the opioid epidemic for a few reasons.
First, the manufactured drug is so potent it can cause an immediate overdose. Since the drug was initially designed to be so strong, most people can not handle its effects. Any dosage could be fatal especially when mixed with already hard drugs.
Second, it is impossible to detect the drug when it is part of another drug. Since fentanyl is tasteless and odorless, users are unable to see the drug mixed into the substance.
Third, the production of the drug has inspired other drugs to be produced that are similar to it. American pharmaceutical companies had attempted to create other synthetic drugs like fentanyl but found they were too strong for human consumption. Overseas manufacturers got access to those formulae as well and started producing cousin drugs to fentanyl which are stronger in potency compared to morphine. Most recently, a combination drug of all the synthetic opioids, called Gray Death, made its way into America. Unlike even the stronger of the synthetic opioids, overdose on Gray Death cannot be reversed.
Fentanyl is dangerous and other synthetic drugs are dangerous no matter how they are used. Having medical supervision when involved with them is critical to staying safe.
Get Help From Oceanfront Recovery
Heroin addiction and opioid addiction doesn’t have to be the story of your life. When you can change your story, you can change your life. At Oceanfront Recovery, we are helping people change their story from addiction to recovery every day. We offer a number of addiction treatment programs to help you or your loved one overcome addiction. Some of these programs include:
- Aftercare Program
- EMDR Therapy Program
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Program
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program
- Family Therapy Program
For information on our men’s addiction treatment center and programs for detox, call us today at (877) 296-7477.
