Fentanyl has taken over the streets, turning the tides quickly in favor of illegal drugs. Unfortunately, it is claiming lives in its wake even as people are now waking up to the realization more needs to be done to combat the entry of this lethal drug on the scene. Just by being around the drug, a person can get sick. Fentanyl, an opiate-based painkiller, can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. This potency has led authorities to warn people about just how dangerous this drug can be.
Lethal Risk
Fentanyl is being sold as heroin in pretty much every corner of the black market in the United States. Produced in Mexico, and shipped from China, the drug is 40 to 50 times stronger than street-level heroin. Ingestion of a small amount can kill a person. Detectives learned this the hard way when trying to grab it for evidence. Most often, the drug is not purely fentanyl, it is also laced with other drugs, labeled as something else, and marketed to people who are not sure what they may be getting in the end. This drug can be prescribed for severe pain but it usually manufactured outside the United States and smuggled in for dealers to sell on the streets.
Fighting Back
Uniformed officers who are working with drugs in the field are warned to be cautious around any drugs they encounter. It may likely be fentanyl disguised as something else. Police officers are in the frontline of being harmed by this drug. Narcan is the only anti-overdose medication proving itself worthy in the fight back against Fentanyl. The potency, especially when ‘home-cooked,’ has made Narcan less reliable recently, resulting in more lost lives. Reviving people who overdose is taking more Narcan (naloxone) and there is increased risk to the providers on the scene.
The battle against deadly fentanyl is only beginning. When a person is struggling with drug addiction, they will go in search of any drug they can find to give them the fix they seek. Only now, the person may not know what they are ultimately getting. This can lead to increased risk of overdose or death. The best way to fight back (for one’s life) is to seek rehab centers who help discover the underlying issues involved in addiction and work to overcome the physical and emotional symptoms of addiction, as well. Only then can the real battle begin to be won against this lethal drug.
The Springboard Center’s addiction treatment programs are tailored to meet the needs of each client. By utilizing a set of diverse methods of addiction treatment, we are able to deal with your addiction from all angles and concentrate on every aspect of your healing process. It is important to recognize that many of our services offer a group setting and environment, so that the client spends time with other people affected by the same chronic disease and problems. 432-620-0255
