New Utah task force aims to curb the rise of fentanyl overdoses

Prescription fentanyl is dosed in micrograms, designated by the abbreviation “mcg”. Most other drugs are dosed in milligrams (“mg”) — for example, 500 mg of acetaminophen (Tylenol) or 25 mg of diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Do not crush, split, suck, or chew fentanyl tablets, or swallow the tablets whole. You should not use fentanyl unless you are already being treated with a similar opioid pain medicine and your body is tolerant to it. Seek medical attention immediately if you have symptoms of serotonin syndrome, such as agitation, hallucinations, fever, sweating, shivering, fast heart rate, muscle stiffness, twitching, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Fentanyl Addiction Treatment

Yes, fentanyl is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance in the U.S. and is available by prescription only. When monitored and used as directed by your physician, it can effectively relieve severe pain. You should never use it unless it has been prescribed by a licensed medical professional who cares for you and is dispensed by a licensed pharmacy. There is no way to know how much illicit fentanyl may be contained in a drug you plan to use or how potent it is. However, fentanyl test strips are available at certain health departments or syringe exchange programs, so you can test the drug you plan to use for fentanyl.

What is a fentanyl overdose?

In 2022, 73,654 people died from a fentanyl overdose1 in the US, more than double the amount of deaths from three years prior in 2019. Fentanyl deaths have increased every year for the past decade, but 2022 marked the smallest year-over-year growth at 4.3%. “DEA has consistently followed CDC guidelines on preventing occupational exposure to fentanyl.” Throughout this article, we refer to fentanyl deaths in place of the CDC descriptor of “Other synthetic narcotics,” which is found under code T40.4 in the CDC Wonder database.

Medical uses

Left with few options, many communities, grassroots organizations and families have turned increasingly to how long does iv fentanyl stay in your system a strategy that’s been used in other countries known as “harm reduction.” One more challenge is the mainstream medical community, which has largely resisted helping with the crisis. “The government oversight that does exist, it’s just not capable of finding unethical behavior like this,” said NHPR senior reporter Lauren Chooljian in an interview with NPR. Meanwhile, the network of roughly 17,000 drug rehab and treatment centers across the U.S. is often described as a “wild west” of expensive, poorly regulated and unscientific programs. Efforts to weaken fentanyl production and smuggling by Chinese chemical manufacturers and Mexican drug cartels have failed to curb the supply in American communities. According to Gupta, federal spending on the crisis has surged, with roughly 40% more dollars flowing to the states.

Which age groups have high overdose death rates?

• Because fentanyl is significantly stronger than other opioids, doses as small as two milligrams can be lethal.
• You should never use it unless it has been prescribed by a licensed medical professional who cares for you and is dispensed by a licensed pharmacy.
• Just touching fentanyl or accidentally inhaling the substance… can result in absorption through the skin and that is one of the biggest dangers with fentanyl.
• Fatal side effects can occur if you use this medicine with alcohol, or with other drugs that cause drowsiness or slow your breathing.

It perpetuates the stigma that people who use illicit opioids are inherently dangerous to encounter, that their bodies and belongings are poisonous. No less important, perpetuating the falsehood that officers could die from contact with a substance they routinely encounter in the field is profoundly stressful to officers. Alleged “overdoses” have been cited as examples of the “nocebo effect,” where inaccurate beliefs about a drug generate negative somatic effects upon exposure. Yet the false belief that one has received a substantial dose, can produce very real, distressing symptoms—panic, hyperventilation, vertigo, a racing heart—that are misrecognized as evidence of fentanyl’s known effects (Persaud & Jennings, 2020). Misrecognized symptoms appear to confirm misinformation, and no one’s wellbeing is served.

• Overdose prevention is a CDC priority that impacts families and communities.
• Despite the beneficial clinical anesthetic and pain-relieving effects of fentanyl, the frequent use of fentanyl primarily affects the central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and pulmonary systems and can cause several side effects54.
• “The dry powder form that’s encountered in street drugs is not going to pass through the skin in any meaningful way.”
• “We are currently updating and revising our guidance in this area to reflect new information and ongoing health hazard evaluations,” a CDC spokeperson said in a statement.
• She started on the road to recovery going through the House of Hope, a treatment program, and then graduated from drug court.

• KALAMAZOO, MI – Federal prosecutors said two men from Michigan pleaded guilty to criminal charges connected to a mass poisoning in Kalamazoo County that led to at least six deaths.
• Neither sigma nor opioid receptors are essential for the fentanyl-induced attenuation of muscarinic coronary contraction97.
• To prevent accidentally ingesting fentanyl, Stolbach recommended taking reasonable precautions like “wearing gloves” and “washing powder off hands” if you come in contact with the substance.
• With deaths from prescription opioids2 and heroin falling, fentanyl overdoses have made up an increasingly large share of drug deaths.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents uncovered a massive drug haul of blue fentanyl pills that may be worth more than $11 million stashed in a vehicle in California. Totten called it a “snapshot of the crisis we confront across America,” in which first-time users are unaware they are even consuming fentanyl. KALAMAZOO, MI – Federal prosecutors said two https://ecosoberhouse.com/ men from Michigan pleaded guilty to criminal charges connected to a mass poisoning in Kalamazoo County that led to at least six deaths. “Fentanyl precursors sold by China-based chemical companies enable such cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl on a massive scale for importation into and distribution within the United States,” Assistant U.S. Atty.

Carfentanil vs Fentanyl: Which is more dangerous?

Deaths are comparatively lower or not reported in peer-reviewed publications in the rest of the world. Abuse through intravenous administration, mixed drug toxicities including other opiates and antidepressants, and self-treatment of breakthrough pain are mainly responsible for most of the deaths. There is a need for wider regulatory measures, education of healthcare professionals and patients in combating the problem. First responders work in the midst of an epidemic that claimed over 94,000 lives last year.