Over the last few months fentanyl has been receiving publicity in the local media. Reports of multi-colored “rainbow fentanyl” pills and blocks found in Oregon and Idaho. Concern being raised that rainbow fentanyl is targeting kids. Then the announcement of 17 suspects arrested throughout Washington and California with large amounts of meth, heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine. And the announcement by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office that the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force confiscated $1.5 million in drugs in an Everett apartment that included 2,500 grams of pure fentanyl powder, over 100,000 M-30 fentanyl pills as well as cocaine, meth, and ethanol.
With all of this attention, facts about fentanyl can
become hazy.
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has
identified some misinformation about fentanyl. It points out some facts about
this dangerous drug.
·
Fentanyl is 50 time more potent than heroin.
·
Fentanyl is used in a medical setting to
control pain; by injecting it in an operating room, with a patch for chronic
pain or with a lollipop for severe pain.
·
Clandestine lab operators synthesize
fentanyl using a couple of precursor molecules that they can get from China or
Pakistan.
·
Since it takes so little to make it potent,
fentanyl is easy to transport in small, difficult to detect batches. This
contrasts with shipping opium poppies that are shipped in large bales or heroin
in bricks.
The CU Anschutz Medical Campus points out that criminal
manufacturers are substituting fentanyl for other drugs, not mixing the drugs
together. The manufacturers will press tablets to look like oxycodone or Xanax.
Some other myths include,
·
If fentanyl is in the room and you inhale
it, it will make you overdose or kill you. Fentanyl does not become a vapor.
· Being near fentanyl causes serious effects. Some people report that after learning that fentanyl is in the room, they feel anxious, their heart rate increases, they experience a panic attack, or they feel like they are going to pass out. This is not a direct result of the fentanyl but due to anxiety about knowing that they are near fentanyl. This is called the “nocebo” effect, or when a patient has negative expectations about a treatment then any effects are more negative than normal.
CU Anschutz Medical Campus points out that the safest way to fill your prescription is from an accredited pharmacy. Purchasing prescription drugs outside of a pharmacy risks overdosing and potentially death. With a pharmacy, there are controls to ensure the dose and safety of the drugs that your doctor has prescribed for you. Purchasing the drugs on the black market such as on the street or on social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram can endanger your life.
Drugs most likely to be substituted by fentanyl include Xanax and oxycodone. Purchasing pills advertised as oxycodone on the street does not guarantee that the pills do not contain fentanyl. You can test the pills with a test kit, but there is not uniformity of the amount of fentanyl in each pill. You can test one pill and it might test with no fentanyl. Another pill might have a little bit. A third pill might have enough to kill you.
A recent concern has been that rainbow fentanyl is intended to target kids. The press reported concerns that fentanyl could be included in Halloween candy. Several experts on drug addiction, illegal drug distribution, and Halloween myths have been quoted as skeptical of this concern.
Another argument is over the best way to reduce fentanyl deaths. Some insist tightening border security on the U.S.-Mexico border is the answer to choke off the supply. Others point out that fentanyl is easy to hide compared to other illegal drugs like heroin or opium. Many experts believe that only going after the supply will fail. That reducing demand through treatment and education will go farther in reducing fentanyl, in combination with interdicting the supply.
Congress set up the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to develop a strategic approach to reduce opioid overdose deaths. In its report issued in February 2022, it concludes, among other things:
·
The U.S. needs to improve its methods to
disrupt the illegal drug supply coming into the U.S. through better targeting
of drug sources, improved drug supply investigation methods and strengthened
intelligence sharing and training.
·
The U.S. must make public health
demand-reduction central to reducing opioid deaths by improving access to addiction
treatment, researching improved treatment methods, and developing innovative drug
prevention messaging to the public about the pervasiveness of synthetic opioids
and the treatment resources available to those with opioid addictions.
The Seattle Times:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/rainbow-fentanyl-found-in-or-id-but-not-wa/
U.S. Department of Justice:
The Herald:
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/police-eviction-at-everett-apartment-turns-up-1-5-million-in-drugs/
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus:
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/fentanyl-and-counterfeit-prescription-drugs-facts-and-myths
Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking:
https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP68838.html
Snohomish Overdose Prevention:
https://snohomishoverdoseprevention.com/fentanyl/
Drug Enforcement Administration:
https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl
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