Fentanyl Crisis In California | What You Should Know
It seems like every few years, one drug falls out of favor, and another takes it’s place. In the past, serious concerns have been raised about LSD, heroin, cocaine, meth, and more. The current drug of concern is fentanyl.
Technically speaking, fentanyl is a legal drug. It’s a synthetic opioid that’s used to treat pain. When used properly, it improves the quality of life for those who struggle with chronic pain. The problem is that fentanyl has become a street drug. The illegal use of fentanyl has led to a steady increase in overdose deaths during the past decade. There is even a current case that’s gaining a great deal of national media attention in which a wife is accused of using fentanyl to murder her spouse.
Using fentanyl without the use of a prescription is illegal, but the legal consequences of using fentanyl are in the process of becoming more severe.
The House of Representatives recently passed legislation that’s specifically geared towards individuals who abuse fentanyl. It is an issue that has helped unite both Democrat and Republican politicians.
One of the main purposes behind the new legislation is to have fentanyl listed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. If the legislation becomes law, it means that the prison sentences for fentanyl related crimes will become significantly more severe. While the bill still has to gain both Congressional and Presidential approval before it becomes law, it does appear that the White House is in favor of the bill.
At this point, if you’re caught with a small amount of fentanyl and don’t have a prescription, you will likely be charged with a misdemeanor. If the quantity is larger, you’ll face felony charges. The biggest decision maker between a misdemeanor and felony is the amount of fentanyl you are in possession of and if you have it for personal use or if evidence suggest that you’re involved with the sale or trafficking of fentanyl.
It is not unusual for someone who is in possession of a large amount of fentanyl to be convicted of a drug crime and be sentenced to up to ten years in prison. If you’re accused of trafficking fentanyl, you will face federal charges and could be sentenced to spend the rest of your life in prison and/or fined $1 million and $50 million.
What Parents Should Know About Fentanyl (Accidental Exposures to Fentanyl)
Every parent should be worried about fentanyl. It’s showing up with increasing regularity in common street drugs. Unfortunately, the synthetic opioid is often missed with common street drugs because it’s a cheap way to increase the potency of other drugs. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than plain heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. In some cases, it’s also deadly. With more than 150 USA deaths linked to fentanyl daily, parents should be concerned about their children encountering this opioid.
It’s a Common Drug Additive
Illegal drug makers love fentanyl because they can make it cheaply. Since it increases the effectiveness of the drugs they sell, adding fentanyl to the mix allows them to charge more money. The problem is that if even just a little too much fentanyl is added to the mix, it becomes deadly. And drug manufacturers aren’t careful about how much fentanyl they lace into their products.
Fentanyl is being found with increasing regularity in pressed pills. It’s highly likely any of the following drugs could be laced with fentanyl:
- Xanax
- OxyContn
- Hydrocodone
Your Child May Not Know They Are About to Consume Fentanyl
The increasing number of fatalities linked to fentanyl has made some teens and young adults wary of the opioid. Some try hard to avoid it. The problem is that there have been many instances where the person who suffered from a fentanyl overdose didn’t know the drugs they were using contained the product.
If you’re unable to curb your child’s drug habit, at least teach them how to use test strips that detect the presence of fentanyl. This drastically decreases the odds of them inadvertently suffering from a fentanyl overdose.
A Single Dose of Naloxone May Not Be Enough to Reverse an Overdose
The good news is that naloxone can help reverse a fentanyl overdose. The bad news is that a single dose may not be enough to complete the job. In most cases, it takes at least two doses of naloxone to stop the overdose.
The Sooner You Recognize the Signs of a Fentanyl Overdose, the Greater the Odds Become that Your Child Will Survive
A key component to surviving a fentanyl overdose is catching it and taking steps to reverse the process as quickly as possible.
Symptoms of a fentanyl overdose are:
- Extreme nausea
- Confusion
- Repressed breathing
- Constricted pupils
- Choking sounds
In addition to administering naloxone, as soon as you realize your child is overdosing, you need to contact 911. EMTs are trained in dealing with fentanyl overdoses and have the supplies needed to reverse the process. The sooner your child is in the capable hands of a medical professional, the better their chances of survival become
The Danger of Fentanyl | Fentanyl Awareness
When fentanyl was first starting to generate some media attention, the synthetic opioid was a good thing. It was a popular and extremely effective method to treat extreme pain. Doctors commonly prescribed it post-surgery, and patients with advanced cancer often used it to help control their pain. When used in a medical setting and under close supervision, fentanyl is a good thing.
The problem is that illicitly manufactured fentanyl isn’t used in a medical setting.
Fentanyl is extremely popular amongst the manufacturers of illegal drugs because it’s similar to heroin but even more potent. It is extremely common for heroin, meth, and cocaine to be laced with fentanyl. The addition of fentanyl enhances the effect of the other drugs. According to narcotics experts, fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. The addition of fentanyl makes the other drugs extremely popular on the street and allows dealers to charge a premium. The problem is that fentanyl also makes the drugs more dangerous.
The CDC estimates that 150 people suffer a fatal fentanyl overdose every single day.
The symptoms of a fentanyl overdose are:
- Extreme nausea
- Confusion
- Repressed breathing
- Constricted pupils
- Choking sounds
If help is not received shortly after the first signs of a fentanyl overdose, the victim will lose consciousness and stop breathing. If they still don’t receive help, they will pass away. If you are near someone who has taken a suspected fentanyl overdose, calling the paramedics and dosing the victim with Narcan can help them survive the experience. According to LiveScience, Narcan is an effective treatment for fentanyl overdoses, but in 89% of the cases, more than one dose was required.
One of the reasons fentanyl is so dangerous is that some people don’t realize that they are using drugs that are laced with fentanyl or the fentanyl amount is higher than anticipated. The best way to detect the presence of fentanyl in drugs is to use fentanyl test strips which are relatively inexpensive and provide results in approximately five minutes. While the test strips are highly effective when determining if a supply of heroin or cocaine is laced with fentanyl, they won’t provide you with information about other popular and dangerous additives such as carfentanil.