[Note: This posting is a continuation of a report on
the development of a civics unit of study.
This unit is directing students to formulate informed positions on the
opioid epidemic. Presently, this
development, in real time, is reporting a set of factoids on a particular drug which
is part of this epidemic.]
Of late, there is a
newer, scarier form of the opioid drug.
It is a synthetic form; it’s fentanyl. The numbers concerning fentanyl are
“jaw-dropping.” There is not much of a
history here, the dangers associated with fentanyl seem to have mushroomed since
2014. What can be said is that the drug
is mostly smuggled into the country although there some production facilities
in the US.
Here are some of the reported facts concerning
fentanyl. First, fentanyl is a synthetic
opioid; as such, it is a painkiller.
That function should not hide its hideous qualities. It is enormously more potent than morphine –
50 to 100 times – and more potent than heroin – 30 to 50 times.[1] A mere 2 milligrams (or just under two
ounces) is enough to kill a person.
Looking at, smelling, or tasting it is misleading and dangerous; it is white,
odorless, and flavorless.
To underline these characteristics, first-responders
who have been called to help overdose victims have suffered overdose symptoms themselves
by either touching or smelling residue amounts.[2] These accidental incidences has changed
protocols by which authorities handle on-site drug samples. Now, applying DEA recommendations, officers or
medics do not field test suspected fentanyl samples. Instead they send collected material to
laboratories for analysis.[3]
With these factors, one can imagine the
costs regarding the effects of this drug on users. Several sources have reported the resultant
death rates associated with fentanyl. Allison
Bond,[4]
who illustrates the comparative danger of fentanyl by showing the lethal
amounts of the drug next to lethal amounts of heroin (the former consists of a
few grains, while the latter fills about one-eighth of a two-inch vile),
reports on these death rates.
Highlighting
the state of New Hampshire, Bond reports deaths rates in the US skyrocketed
from 2015 to 2016, a 540% jump. A study
appearing in the Journal of American
Medical Association (JAMA) further
supports this finding by stating that the massive increase in opioid-induced
deaths are almost totally due to fentanyl consumption.[5] And, of course, when one considers drug use,
mixing becomes a factor.
Big
urban areas, such as Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago, have seen fentanyl-laced
heroin become a major problem. These
substances are easily hidden, and victims report that they were surprised to
learn their heroin intake was so doctored; in some cases, what they consumed
was pure fentanyl.[6] And the extent of the “fentanyl problem”
might be undercounted.
According
to the Center for Disease Control, reported figures of opioid overdoses omit
synthetic opioids, but the agency believes that a significant portion of that
count is due to illicit fentanyl.
Therefore, the total effect of this synthetic drug is not known.[7] Its surreptitious quality relating to its use
and even to its generally known dangers – many Americans first became
knowledgeable of its dangers with the death of the rock star, Prince – has
added to its lethal effect.
So,
what one can surmise is that the dangers of fentanyl have to do with its
undistinguishable characteristics in granulated form and the lack of knowledge (most
victims in hospitals, from overdoses, are surprised that they are there due to
their heroin being laced with fentanyl).[8]
The
next posting will report on some of the facts concerning the production of fentanyl,
on the effects the drug has on various states or regions around the country,
and on some of the supplying areas around the world.
[1] Christopher Caldwell, “American Carnage: The Landscape of Opioid Addiction,” First Things, April 2017, accessed June
18, 2018, https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/04/american-carnage
.
[2] Catherine S Hwang; Hsien-Yen Chang; Caleb
G Alexander, "Impact of Abuse-Deterrent OxyContin on
Prescription Opioid Utilization," Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug
Safety, 24, no. 2, 2015, 197–204 AND Kristen A. Morin, Joseph K. Eibl, Alexandra M. Franklyn, and David C.
Marsh, “The Opioid Crisis: Past, Present
and Future Policy Climate in Ontario, Canada,” Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, vol. 12, no. 1
(2017), 45 AND “FDA Requests Removal of Opana ER for Risks Related to Abuse,”
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of the Commissioner, June 8, 2017,
accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm562401.htm .
[3] “Briefing Guide for First Responders,” U. S.
Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration, accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/Fentanyl_BriefingGuideforFirstResponders_June2017.pdf
.
[4] Allison Bond, “Why Fentanyl Is Deadlier Than Heroin,
in a Single Photo,” STAT, September 29, 2016, accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/29/why-fentanyl-is-deadlier-than-heroin/
.
[5] Peter D. Scott, Peter Dale and Jonathan Marshall,
“Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America
(Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press, 1991), 2.
[7] Josh Katz, “The First Count of Fentanyl Deaths in
2016: Up 540% in Three Years,” The New York Times, September 2, 2017,
accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/02/upshot/fentanyl-drug-overdose-deaths.html
.
[8] Adrienne Cutway, “Orlando Man Pleads Guilty to
Selling Heroin Mixed with Fentanyl,” Orlando.com, March 20, 2017, accessed July
2, 2018, https://www.clickorlando.com/news/orlando-man-pleads-guilty-to-selling-heroin-mixed-with-fentanyl
AND Jacqueline Howard, “Why Opioid Overdose Deaths Seem to Happen in Spurts,”
CNN, February 8, 2017, accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/health/opioids-overdose-deaths-epidemic-explainer/
AND “Opioid Data Analysis,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no
date, accessed July 2, 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html
.
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