Fentanyl Dangers

[Koolau]

Overdose deaths are 100k+ per year so something different is definitely going on.

The difference is Fentanyl. The difference between an effective dose and death is very small. Most drugs have a bigger safety margin between these two things.

The LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of the population) is on the order of 2mg. That's like the size of a few particles of table salt or sugar. The precision with which illicit Fentanyl is mixed is extremely poor. It's truly a crap shoot taking today's drugs which may be laced with Fentanyl.

 

[GenXguy]

The difference is Fentanyl. The difference between an effective dose and death is very small. Most drugs have a bigger safety margin between these two things.

The LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of the population) is on the order of 2mg. That's like the size of a few particles of table salt or sugar. The precision with which illicit Fentanyl is mixed is extremely poor. It's truly a crap shoot taking today's drugs which may be laced with Fentanyl.

And then to think Carfentanil is 100X as potent as Fentanyl!

This shows Fentanyl lethal dose:

 

[swakyaby]

Read today’s newspaper that a car driver who entered southern California from Mexico was pulled over because he was missing a front license plate. The driver appeared very nervous and eventually revealed he was carrying narcotics. The police found a trash bag hidden in the trunk carrying 85 pounds of counterfeit narcotic pills, about 390,000 pills. The pills were designed to look like prescription oxycodone, but are believed to contain fentanyl instead.

I know that people with chronic pain are sometimes desperate to obtain narcotics beyond what is prescribed, but these street drugs are incredibly dangerous.

 

[1242Vintage]

So sad that the fentanyl epidemic is claiming so many lives.

 

[Koolau]

Read today’s newspaper that a car driver who entered southern California from Mexico was pulled over because he was missing a front license plate. The driver appeared very nervous and eventually revealed he was carrying narcotics. The police found a trash bag hidden in the trunk carrying 85 pounds of counterfeit narcotic pills, about 390,000 pills. The pills were designed to look like prescription oxycodone, but are believed to contain fentanyl instead.

I know that people with chronic pain are sometimes desperate to obtain narcotics beyond what is prescribed, but these street drugs are incredibly dangerous.

PAIN! I think this is the one piece of the puzzle that COULD be addressed more effectively. The Oxy issues of 10 years ago meant that the Feds do what they do best: Treat us all like 3rd graders (Johnny abused the "gum in class" policy, so no one gets to chew gum.)

Pain is not like recreation or escape when it comes to drugs. Pain colors your whole world. I had a friend who required large doses of Oxy to relieve his pain. When the Feds cracked down, the doc practically cut him off. Technically, he was an "addict" and suddenly, he was without pain relief AND he was in "technical" withdrawal. From then on (for the remainder of his life) my friend never got a night's sleep. He never was without near debilitating pain. Going to a different doctor was "perceived" as "drug shopping" or "drug-seeking" behavior. MJ was the one aid that helped most, but had to be obtained without medical monitoring (for obvious reasons.)

"Baby with the bathwater" comes to mind but YMMV.

On a personal note, I was given Fentanyl during back surgery in which I had to be (mostly) awake to help guide the doctors. Used in the context of the OR, it was an amazingly effective drug. I didn't detect any "high" as such but the pain relief was miraculous. "Baby with the bathwater." Maybe we can get it right with this drug - but I doubt it, though YMMV.