Organized crime is mixing illicit fentanyl with other drugs to make them cheaper, more potent and more addictive, but deadlier. Authorities have found illicit fentanyl in many drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, fake pills and cocaine.
Fentanyl mixed with any drug increases the chance of a fatal overdose.
Harmful effects are more numerous, including drowsiness, disorientation, sedation, breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, and slow heart rate.
Between the years 2018 and 2021, deaths attributed to overdoses of this powerful opioid skyrocketed by more than 90%, with approximately 70,000 deaths recorded in the last mentioned year. In 2022, there were more than 103,000 deaths from fentanyl.
The situation has reached epidemic proportions in some sectors of society.
This trend has been driven, in part, by the combination of fentanyl with other drugs, such as alcohol, heroin or methadone. These types of combinations magnify the effects of fentanyl, raising both the risk of addiction and of overdose and death.
This is the zombie drug
Scientists have shown that the action of fentanyl in the body is complex and multifaceted. In our body there are more than 20 endogenous opioid peptides, such as endorphins, which facilitate substances such as fentanyl to act in specific places in the brain. Stimulation of these substances in the central nervous system can affect what is known as the brain’s reward system, which regulates various aspects of human behavior, such as pleasure, memory, and learning.
The powerful stimulation that fentanyl induces in this system can lead to brain changes known as neuroadaptations. These changes promote greater tolerance, which means that increasing doses are required to achieve the desired effects, dependence, addiction and withdrawal symptoms.
The reinforcing effect of fentanyl is related to the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, the pathways used by the neurotransmitter dopamine to distribute itself in the brain. After continued consumption, the first neuroadaptations begin to affect the dorsal striatum, a region involved in habit formation.
Fentanyl belongs to the category of opioids, some of which are of natural origin, such as opium extracted from the Papaver somniferum plant, or synthetic, such as fentanyl itself.
rainbow fentanyl
Brightly colored fentanyl, known as “rainbow” fentanyl, has been identified as a new trend in the United States by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Rainbow fentanyl can be found in many forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that can look like chalk or candy. Rainbow fentanyl, like all forms of fentanyl, is extremely potent and dangerous.
Why is it so serious in the US?
The reasons for drug use in the United States are diverse, but one of the main ones, in the opinion of experts, is the focus on drug control: the private health system in the United States grants great autonomy to private centers regarding the prescription of these substances that ends up creating dependency in patients.
This can lead to a lack of coordination and regulation across the system, which in turn can result in easier access to these drugs and increased potential for abuse and addiction.
Added to this is the increase in fentanyl trafficking from China and Mexico by drug cartels.
Most affected countries
Although the fentanyl epidemic may seem primarily a US problem, Spain ranks fourth in terms of fentanyl use, behind the US, Germany and the UK.
According to the Report of the Survey Program on Alcohol and Other Drugs in Spain (EDADES) 2022, the consumption of opioids in Spain increased by 0.6% in the last year, and fentanyl, which was previously a marginal opioid, is now the third most consumed opioid (14%) after codeine and tramadol.
Fentanyl is used in Spain as an analgesic to treat chronic and severe pain, and is marketed in the form of transdermal patches. Although it is useful for the treatment of pain, it has drawbacks such as dependence and the tolerance it generates.
The increase in fentanyl use in Spain is especially worrying, its increasing prevalence and potential for addiction and tolerance raising questions about the need for increased surveillance and control. The controlled dispensing methodology and continued education on its proper use may be key in preventing a potential fentanyl “epidemic” in the country.
Naloxone, antidote to fentanyl
naloxone is a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, including heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications. Naloxone is safe and easy to use, and is often administered with a nasal spray, according to experts.
Naloxone quickly reverses an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids. It can restore normal breathing in 2 to 3 minutes to a person whose breathing has slowed or even stopped as a result of an opioid overdose. More than one dose of naloxone may be required for stronger opioids like fentanyl.
There are two forms of naloxone that anyone can use without medical training or clearance, in a Nasal Spray, the medication is sprayed into the inside of the nose, and as an Injectable Solution, it is given by injection into a muscle or under the skin.
If you give a person naloxone, stay with them until emergency personnel arrive, or for at least four hours to make sure they can breathe normally again.
lethal threat
“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the US has ever faced,” said DEA administrator Anne Milgram. “Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison. We must take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl-related poisonings and overdose deaths from claiming dozens of American lives every day.”
@iraimag
FOUNTAIN: DEA, El País, National Geographic, Infobae, Center for Control for Disease Prevention
