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Opiate Addiction: What is Fentanyl?

Music icon Prince is the newest celebrity to die due to suspected opiate overdose. Opiate addiction,such as Fentanyl addiction is one of the top causes of overdose in the United States.

Fentanyl is a hazardous painkiller that is stronger than the heroin. It is a synthetic opioid that is used to treat an extreme pain. It works by lessening the patient’s pain and at the same time, bringing an elevated euphoria and relaxation.

Before Fentanyl became a major cause of opiate addiction, it was used as an anesthetic in 1960. Several brands of Fentanyl including Actiq, Duragesic and Sublimaze were introduced. The medication can be used as a patch, an injection, or it can be smoked or consumed in its  lollipop form.

Fentanyl is dangerous. It is up to 100 times more powerful than a morphine and up to 30 to 50 times more potent than the drug heroin. This is the reason why consuming even a small quantity can still be fatal. 

Due to its high potency, Fentanyl is classified as a Schedule 2 drug. This classification applies to all medications that are known to have their medical benefits, but can also cause addiction to the patient. In cases of opiate addiction, users mostly mixed the painkiller with cocaine, heroin or both.

After becoming addicted to opiates, usershave a tendency to overdose. It could result in respiratory arrest leading to breathing cessation. In reality, it is hard to claim how much  Fentanyl is considered safe.

A small quantity can be safe for one user, but fatal to another. Addiction to painkillers can lead to high tolerance to the drug. Just like other substances, tolerance means that the user crave more to attain the same euphoric effect.

In 2015, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced a nationwide Fentanyl alert. In Mexico, a number of laboratories were forced to close while all stocks of Fentanyl were confiscated. 

Opiate addiction in the U.S. has become epidemic since the 1970s. Authorities believe that Fentanyl has been mass produced and sold at a cheap price. It took almost four decades before the government focused on restricting Fentanyl production and sale.

It is not surprising that Fentanyl is also one of the leading causes of drug-related deaths in the country. More than 1,000 people have died due to drug overdose between 2005 to 2007. 

In 2014, the number inflated to over 28,000 deaths. A report showed that 4.3 million people had developed opiate addictionin the same year.