Photo: ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty Images
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is one of the leading contributors to fatal and non-fatal overdoses in the US.
There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It works by binding to the body’s opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions.
Its effects include extreme happiness, drowsiness, nausea, confusion, constipation, sedation, tolerance, addiction, depression and respiratory arrest, unconsciousness, coma, and death.
However, the most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdoses involve illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs due to its extreme potency, making the drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. Even in small doses, it can be deadly. More than 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. 2
The medications may contain lethal levels of fentanyl and you would not be able to see, taste or smell them. It is almost impossible to know if the drugs were mixed with fentanyl unless you test your drugs with fentanyl test strips.
Test strips are inexpensive and usually give results in 5 minutes, which can be the difference between life and death. Even if the test is negative, be careful as the test strips may not detect more potent fentanyl-like drugs, such as carfentanil.
When someone takes an opioid, it binds to receptors in the brain and helps release our natural endorphins. Those endorphins are produced after eating, resting or doing something nice, the things that make us feel good.
Keep reading:
• Obesity changes your thoughts irreversibly: why
• The soap you use to bathe may be the reason you are a mosquito magnet.
• Why older adults wake up earlier