Fentanyl

[lawman]

Help me understand fentanyl overdose..I understand that it is potent and deadly but what I don't understand is what people think they are getting when they buy the pill..Are they expecting to get a safe dose of fentanyl or do they think they are getting something else? If they think they are getting something else why are drug dealers not just selling a placebo? The only thing that makes sense to me is that they think they are getting a safe dose of fentanyl but as deadly as it is it seems unlikely people are taking it expecting to get a safe dose. What am I missing?

 

[GenXguy]

I've heard that's it's being put in a lot of things that aren't even supposed to have Fentanyl in them at all. Lots of info online about this.

 

[lawman]

I've heard that's it's being put in a lot of things that aren't even supposed to have Fentanyl in them at all.

But why?

 

[aja8888]

But why?

Getting the user hooked as it is a synthetic opioid.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. It is in the same family of drugs as codeine, oxycontin, and morphine. However, fentanyl is much more potent than those drugs. It does have limited medical use as a prescription painkiller. Yet it can be risky to use even in a clinical setting because of its incredibly addictive nature.

Fentanyl comes in many different forms, such as a patch, lozenge form, or tablets. Overdose from fentanyl is a major concern as it is 100 times more powerful than morphine. Recognizing the signs of fentanyl addiction in your loved one could be critical to getting them help or even saving their life.

 

[Popeye]

It’s mixed in to boost the high of the drugs. People buying the other pill don’t know they are getting something with fentanyl mixed in. But the folks doing the mixing are not all exactly chemists. Fentanyl is so potent, a little mistake can be deadly.

Here’s a link on the DEA website. https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl

Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency, or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and actually don’t know that they are purchasing fentanyl – which often results in overdose deaths.

 

[lawman]

It’s mixed in to boost the high of the drugs. People buying the other pill don’t know they are getting something with fentanyl mixed in. But the folks doing the mixing are not all exactly chemists. Fentanyl is so potent, a little mistake can be deadly.

That makes sense..Lacing with fentanyl to stretch another more expensive drug perhaps..

 

[aja8888]

That makes sense..Lacing with fentanyl to stretch another more expensive drug perhaps..

Plus the opioid hook! Turns the user into a cash machine until the mix is wrong.

 

[Time2]

I had a drug addicted neighbor for more years than I care to admit. Two women died in his home of overdoses, (nothing ever came of it). We watched the drug courier deliver twice a week, they didn't really try to hide the transaction. He lived with his mama, he was in his middle 50s. Mama died Last year in Jan and the drug addicted son got the house, which he sold the house in March and got $125k. This bought him enough Fentanyl that he died of an overdose in May.

The house was complete trash, the builder that bought it gutted it, it was so bad he had replace the wood on the floors. All the fixtures and cabinets in the baths and kitchen have been removed, no ceilings. Then the builder backed away. I think he decided it will cost more to rehab than he can get at resale, so now it's for sale, he wants it to be someone else's problem.

 

[GenXguy]

It's cheap and a large number of the pills contain a lethal dose. Doesn't seem like good business practice to kill off your customers.

 

[Spock]

Addicts go after the strongest dose for the $. With heroin, addicts will flock to the brand (some dealers stamp a logo on the package) that is causing people to OD. More ODs = more sales. When a brand is starting up they dealers will do a stronger blend to draw in customers and then thin it out over time. Street news of people ODing on Brand X brings in new business.

 

[skyking1]

The unregulated imports are in unknown dosages and concentrations, hence the absolute crapshoot on overdoses.
Some of the overdoses are from simple cross contamination from the equipment that the drug dealers use. It is so potent that a little omission of cleaning could be enough.
Our roomie had experience with some really potent forms for dosing elephants at the NY zoo. These is the kind of concentrations that can be found out there in the illegal international drug trade.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've seen this on news clips on-line and on TV several times... The powder below is "suppose to" be a lethal dose. Doesn't take much and if true, looks like pretty potent stuff.

 

[RobbieB]

But why?

The dealers buy black market Fentanyl (potency unknown) and then press out their own bootleg pills in a bootleg lab with ID imprints to mimic norco or percodan or percocet or oxycontin or whatever there is a opioid pill coded.

Fentanyl is the most powerful narcotic out there and the dealers certainly don't want to kill their customers.

The buyers think they are just getting prescription drugs.

But the pills are Fentanyl and not oxycodone or hydrocodone plus a binder. If the mixing process is not complete some pills will kill you and some are placebos.

Very dangerous.

 

[lawman]

Very dangerous.

To say the least. Best estimates are we are losing around 300 people a day now. That is mind boggling...

 

[Montecfo]

To say the least. Best estimates are we are losing around 300 people a day now. That is mind boggling...

Manufactured mostly in Mexico often from China sourced precursor chemicals. Smuggled into US mostly by US citizens, who pass through regular points of entry.

Fentanyl has become the drug of choice because potency and cheap cost makes it easily concealed and keeps margins high.

My question: who are these US citizens who act as mules for illicit dangerous drugs?

 

[jollystomper]

My question: who are these US citizens who act as mules for illicit dangerous drugs?

They come from all walks of life, and are focused on the monetary payoff, not the results of drug usage.

 

[CardsFan]

Manufactured mostly in Mexico often from China sourced precursor chemicals. Smuggled into US mostly by US citizens, who pass through regular points of entry.

Fentanyl has become the drug of choice because potency and cheap cost makes it easily concealed and keeps margins high.

My question: who are these US citizens who act as mules for illicit dangerous drugs?

Do you have a cite for the bold above? I have never heard this. It might be true, but it might not.

 

[Freedom56]

They gave me Fentanyl when I had my colonoscopy at age 50. It's a commonly prescribed drug for this procedure along with pethidine. It left me in a semi-conscious state and I didn't feel a thing. It felt like one of those alien abductions and the procedure appeared to last about 5 minutes even though it was over 45 minutes. I can't understand why anyone would want to get high from this stuff.

 

[RobbieB]

I did so they gave me some more. I woke up at the end and got to see the inside of me in HD on the big screen. I also saw and felt the removal and reinsertion when he had to reload the wire. Sorry he said...

 

[Montecfo]

Do you have a cite for the bold above? I have never heard this. It might be true, but it might not.

It is true. And that is different from what I thought before researching it a bit recently.

Here are a couple of links, one from a think tank, one is a recent news story to the same effect.

https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-seizures-rise-u-s-mexico-border-heres-why/

 

[jollystomper]

Manufactured mostly in Mexico often from China sourced precursor chemicals. Smuggled into US mostly by US citizens, who pass through regular points of entry.

Fentanyl has become the drug of choice because potency and cheap cost makes it easily concealed and keeps margins high.

My question: who are these US citizens who act as mules for illicit dangerous drugs?

Do you have a cite for the bold above? I have never heard this. It might be true, but it might not.

If you want more detail...


The data source I have seen is the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In general they collect, analyze, and report on federal sentencing data.

They issued a report on fentanyl trends and trafficking here, which contains that (and a lot of other information): https://www.ussc.gov/research/resea...ogues-federal-trends-and-trafficking-patterns

The source of the data they used can be downloaded from this page, if anyone wants to do their own analysis: https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles

The above are among the data sources referenced in the articles Montecfo provided links to.

 

[JoeWras]

My doctor accidentally killed a patient giving narcotics for a colonoscopy. (Public record, he was also suspended.). It's just too dangerous to play with that stuff. Too much room for error.

Propofol under an anesthesiologist's watch is the way.

 

[Spock]

It is true. And that is different from what I thought before researching it a bit recently.

Here are a couple of links, one from a think tank, one is a recent news story to the same effect.

https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-seizures-rise-u-s-mexico-border-heres-why/

I live 60 miles off the border and most of the apprehensions in this sector are Mexican nationals, other South America countries, or "first generation US citizens". Within that, the US citizens are used to cross at border checkpoints and the others are either mixed in with illegal border crossers or "round trippers".
The cartels have dramatically expanded their reach in the last 2ish years. They used to hand off much earlier in the process whereas now they reach much further down the supply chain.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

They gave me Fentanyl when I had my colonoscopy at age 50. It's a commonly prescribed drug for this procedure along with pethidine. It left me in a semi-conscious state and I didn't feel a thing. It felt like one of those alien abductions and the procedure appeared to last about 5 minutes even though it was over 45 minutes. I can't understand why anyone would want to get high from this stuff.

They gave me Propofol for my colonoscopy, the drug that killed Michael Jackson. I've never done drugs in my life but I felt like a million dollars when I woke up from that. I've never had such a good sleep in my life and I felt so alive and energetic with no sluggishness whatsoever. I was ready to conquer the world that day, the effect lasted for hours and I can understand why people could get addicted to it.
I can't wait for my next colonoscopy

 

[lawman]

They gave me Propofol for my colonoscopy, the drug that killed Michael Jackson. I've never done drugs in my life but I felt like a million dollars when I woke up from that. I've never had such a good sleep in my life and I felt so alive and energetic with no sluggishness whatsoever. I was ready to conquer the world that day, the effect lasted for hours and I can understand why people could get addicted to it.
I can't wait for my next colonoscopy

Ditto!