Fentanyl can kill within a matter of 2 minutes, usually because of respiratory failure (breathing that has stopped). Breathing stops altogether, and the brain does not get the oxygen needed to survive. Roughly 2 million people live with an opioid addiction in the U.S.”It’s important to note…
Substance use recovery can be a stressful experience that leaves you with… QuickMD let me start treatment from home, without the stigma. Now I’m almost five years clean, and QuickMD was a huge part of that. Unlike trying to quit “cold turkey,” which has high relapse rates, MOUD helps manage the physical aspects of addiction while people work on psychological and social factors. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that over 90% of fentanyl seizures happen at official border checkpoints. Traffickers, often U.S. citizens, hide the drug in vehicles crossing legally into the United States.
Reasons Fentanyl is Deadly
- The problem is that fentanyl is highly addictive and can lead to overdose and death—even in very small amounts.
- Data showed nearly a 24% drop in overdose deaths, an encouraging sign that interventions are working.
- Call your pharmacist or the manufacturer if you have questions or need help disposing of unneeded medication.
- Kayla holds over 6 years of experience in the rehab space, including in-house content management at a leading treatment center.
It is so powerful that an amount the size of a few grains of salt can cause a lethal overdose. Understanding why fentanyl is so dangerous is key to combating the epidemic of overdose deaths that it has fueled. The combination of extreme potency, ease of adulteration, and widespread distribution in the illicit drug market makes fentanyl a uniquely lethal threat. Through public awareness, the use of life-saving tools like naloxone, and better access to addiction treatment, we can begin to mitigate the dangers posed by fentanyl and save lives.
Fentanyl Addiction Treatment at Serenity Lane
Breaking fentanyl addiction is difficult and requires gradual tapering to minimize withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes serious opioid withdrawal syndrome can result in death, so medically assisted detox is almost a necessity, as few can deal with detoxing alone safely. Using fentanyl regularly can lead to an opioid use disorder (OUD). OUDs are chronic but drug addiction treatment treatable medical conditions that involve changes in our brains, which makes stopping very difficult without support.
He was treated by EMTs with naloxone, and his mental status and respiratory rate improved. His brother reported that the boy had taken a blue tablet labeled “M30,” which the boy believed to be oxycodone. A urine test was positive for both fentanyl and cocaine (from Joynt & Wand, 2021).
- People sell illegal fentanyl as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays, or as pills that look like other prescription opioids.
- Fentanyl is approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and about 50 times stronger than heroin.
- Synthetic opioids sold illicitly can be mixed with heroin or cocaine, which amplifies its potency and potential danger.
- One of the most dangerous aspects is that people often don’t know a substance contains fentanyl.
- Fentanyl is synthesized from aniline, a common industrial chemical.
More on Substance Abuse and Addiction
The drug is the biggest driver of overdose deaths in the United States and the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin (DEA, n.d.). It is so potent that just 2 milligrams can cause someone to experience a fatal overdose (DEA, 2024). An individual’s tolerance to fentanyl will impact the amount required to cause a fatal overdose.
The FDA has approved these antidote medications for emergency treatment of patients with known or suspected opioid overdose experiencing respiratory and/or central nervous system (CNS) depression. Common routes of naloxone administration include IV, IM, IN, or subcutaneous (SC). Researchers have recently posed a caveat regarding the intranasal route for naloxone administration. In 2023, drug overdoses claimed over 107,000 American lives. A slight drop from 2022, yes, but still far above what we saw before fentanyl became widespread.
One of the biggest reasons it’s so easy to overdose on fentanyl is tolerance. The body becomes used to the original dose, almost to the point where you can’t feel any of its effects anymore. This causes people to take more and more of it, and because of how potent fentanyl is, this leads to overdose.
Kendall Maloof is the clinical director at Eagle Creek Ranch Recovery. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has held multiple leadership roles before settling here at Eagle Creek Ranch Recovery. Kendall received her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2016. Her career in mental and behavioral health began in 2014 when she took up internships in both the nonprofit and for profit sectors. She interned at multiple reputable companies, such as The Living Success Center and 449 Recovery in California.
How do you treat an overdose?
Individuals in active treatment for opioid use disorders would also be prime candidates for vaccination, according to Levy. Sharon Levy, an addiction specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital and an adviser to ARMR, told Wired that she believed that there would be demographics willing to accept a fentanyl vaccine. Collin Gage, the CEO of ARMR Sciences in New York, wants to change the way we approach overdoses. To get care for substance use, please visit one of the locations listed below. You don’t need to be a Mass General Brigham patient or have a primary care provider with us to get care. Offer support and provide information about local treatment options, like Palmetto Addiction Recovery Center.
Fentanyl should only be prescribed by doctors who are experienced in treating pain in cancer patients. When fentanyl binds to mu-opioid receptors, it slows down respiratory activity too. In high doses, fentanyl can completely suppress breathing, leading to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and potentially death within minutes. The body doesn’t have time to compensate how long does fentanyl stay in your system for this sudden shutdown, which is why fentanyl overdoses often happen so quickly. Fentanyl has become one of the most alarming substances fueling the opioid crisis in the United States. With its extraordinary potency, widespread availability, and devastating effects, fentanyl has contributed to record fentanyl overdose deaths and growing addiction rates.