Fentanyl, The Silent Killer
A pandemic nobody is talking about
What is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is an opioid medication administered to treat severe, chronic pain in cancer patients that acts quickly and is short-lasting. Fentanyl is in a class of medications called narcotic (opiate) analgesics. Opioid pain relievers are medicines that can help manage pain when other treatments and medicines are not able to provide enough pain relief. It works by changing the way, the brain and nervous system respond to pain.
“Fentanyl is 80–100 times stronger than morphine and 40 to 50 times more powerful than pure heroin”.
Fentanyl can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion, or skin contact.
It is also a drug of abuse. Most recent cases of fentanyl-related harm, overdose and death in the US are linked to illegally made fentanyl. It is also often found in fake pills or mixed with heroin or cocaine without the users knowing that.
Where does it come from?
For years, China has been a primary source of fentanyl trafficked into the United States.
Under international pressure, China’s government banned the production and sale of fentanyl and many of its variants in May 2019, resulting in a significant reduction in the country’s illicit fentanyl trade.
But more than a year later, Chinese vendors have tapped into online networks to brazenly market fentanyl analogs, the precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. They then ship these directly to customers in the U.S. and Europe, as well as to Mexican cartels according to an NPR investigation and research from the Center for Advanced Defense Studies.
Over a two-year period, close to $800 million worth of fentanyl pills were illegally sold online to the US by Chinese distributors. The drug is usually manufactured in China, then shipped to Mexico where it is processed and packaged, which is then smuggled into the US by drug cartels.
According to Assistant US Attorney, Matt Cronin:
“It is a fact that the People’s Republic of China is the source for the vast majority of synthetic opioids that are flooding the streets of the United States and Western democracies. It is a fact that these synthetic opioids are responsible for the overwhelming increase in overdose deaths in the United States. It is a fact that if the People’s Republic of China wanted to shut down the synthetic opioids industry, they could do so in a day”.
Source: Wikipedia
Why are people using it?
One of the things that’s really driving this uptick in overdoses and increase in mental health and addiction is isolation.
Another reason the Minnesota Department of Health states:
Fentanyl sales are much more lucrative than heroin. A kilogram of heroin is purchased for approximately $6,000 and sold for appropriately $80,000. A kilogram of fentanyl is purchased for approximately $6,000 and sold for approximately $1.6 million. The reason for this vast difference in pricing is that the potency of fentanyl is so great, that it is cut into heroin and other drugs, to expand their volume.
Because it is so highly potent, fentanyl is more easily smuggled into the country, and because it is so cheap to produce, drug traffickers have increasingly turned to fentanyl as a profitable product.
How many people have died from its overdose?
Fentanyl has been called the number one drug threat in the opioid epidemic. The statistics continue to show its impact is far and wide as overdose deaths attributed to its use continue to rise.
During President Trump’s first year in office, (70,237) Americans died of drug overdoses linked to heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioids in 2017. After a minor decrease to (67,367) in 2018. That number rose to over (72,000) Americans dead in 2019 and will probably be even worse for 2020.
Deaths from fentanyl in 2016 increased by 540 percent across the United States since 2015.This accounts for almost “all the increase in drug overdose deaths from 2015 to 2016”, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Source: CDC
What are the side effects of Fentanyl overdose?
Fentanyl may cause drowsiness, nausea and stomach pain, change in heartbeat, changes in vision, anxiety, depression, hallucinations, uncontrollable shaking, hives, rash and itching, and swelling of hands, arms, feet and lower legs.
Abuse of fentanyl will lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. Signs of overdose include slow irregular breathing, slowing of the circulation and central nervous systems, acute respiratory distress, seizures, coma, and potential death. Children may be more susceptible to overdose.
Fentanyl may cause a decrease in sex drive and reproductive functions in people.
Source: National Library of Medicine
What are the remedies for an overdose?
Government encourages residents to call emergency number if someone cannot be woken up or is breathing irregularly after ingesting pills or powder of unknown origin.
Drugs like Naloxone can be lifesaving in such situations. It is used to reverse the life-threatening effects of an overdose. It works by blocking the effects of opiates to relieve dangerous symptoms caused by high levels of opiates in the blood.
You will probably be unable to treat yourself if you experience an opiate overdose. You should make sure that your family members, caregivers, or the people who spend time with you know how to tell if you are experiencing an overdose, how to use naloxone, and what to do until emergency medical help arrives.
Overcoming Drug Abuse
Drug abuse usually start’s as a way to socially connect with peers. People often try drugs for the first time in social situations with friends and acquaintances. A strong desire to fit in to the group can make one compelled into consuming drugs.
Problems can sometimes sneak up on you, as your drug use gradually increases over time. Smoking a joint with friends over the weekend, or taking ecstasy at a rave, or painkillers when your back aches. These habits can change from using drugs, a couple of days a week to using them every day. Gradually consuming drug becomes your habit.
As drug abuse takes hold, you may miss or frequently be late for work or school, your job performance may progressively deteriorate, and you may start to neglect social or family responsibilities. Your ability to stop using it is eventually compromised. What began as a voluntary choice has now turned into a physical and psychological need.
Eventually drug abuse can consume your life, stopping social and intellectual development. This only reinforces feelings of isolation.
Addiction is a complex problem that affects every aspect of your life. Overcoming addiction requires reaching out for support and making changes to the way you live, deal with problems, and relate to others. Recovery is within your reach but don’t try to go it alone; it’s very easy to get discouraged and rationalize “just one more.”
Whether you choose to go to rehab, rely on self-help programs, get therapy, or take a self-directed treatment approach, support is essential.
