However, 2023 marked the first year in which fentanyl-related deaths began to decline, and they’ve continued to drop by at least 21 percent since then. The medication will reverse the effects of fentanyl and block future effects. If a person appears to experience overdose symptoms again, they may require another dose. Illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, are sometimes mixed with fentanyl, which makes the drugs more potent. If someone with a substance use disorder is unaware of the added fentanyl, this can put them at a higher risk of accidental overdose or death. The issue with illicit purchases is that it is hard to know how much fentanyl is in the product.
- Fentanyl administration provides effective pain relief, but its long-term use can result in a lowering of pain thresholds98,99.
- An 11-month-old girl swallowed a blue tablet she found while crawling around a new apartment.
- “We hope to set up forums, to share intelligence and information, and case cooperation and solve the drug crime fundamentally with international cooperation.”
- This medicine may increase risk for muscle rigidity and movement.
- There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding.
How To Recognize An Official Oregon Website
According to preliminary data released by the CDC on August 13, 2025, an estimated 77,648 drug overdose deaths occurred in the 12 months ending in March 2025. This marks a 25% decrease compared to the same period ending in March 2024. Department of Health and Human Services has renewed its emergency declaration to continue federal coordination in response to the ongoing national opioid crisis. Over the past three decades, the United States has faced an unprecedented opioid crisis, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl driving overdose deaths to catastrophic levels. Although overdose fatalities declined by nearly 25% from 2023 to 2024, the crisis is far from over.
Don’t Make A Fatal Mistake
The median weight seized is just 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds), which contains more than fifty thousand lethal doses. By December 2023, at least 12,245 kilograms (27,000 pounds) had been intercepted at the southern U.S. border this year. Older people are more likely than younger individuals to experience adverse effects, especially the respiratory depressant effects of fentanyl. Healthcare professionals will typically monitor people in this age group.
National Fentanyl Prevention And Awareness Day™ Toolkit
For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. What makes fentanyl so addictive is that it’s cheap and it can produce an intense high with just a small amount, even at a much lower dose than heroin. Abusing fentanyl can build up a tolerance to the drug, which increases the risk of overdosing. This campaign also shows the difference between counterfeit pills and real pills. Amid these efforts, the Biden administration kept up pressure on Mexico to intercept precursors received from China and to crack down on clandestine labs in its own country.
- Be sure you do not take more of the other opioid, and do not take it more often than directed.
- National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day™ was established in 2022 to remember and honor the lives lost to overdoses involving illegally made fentanyl.
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that obtaining a kilogram (roughly 2.2 pounds) of powdered fentanyl from China could cost a few thousand dollars.
- If too much of this medicine is taken for a long time, it may become habit-forming (causing mental or physical dependence).
- Synthetic opioids sold illicitly can be mixed with heroin or cocaine, which amplifies its potency and potential danger.
Q: How Can I Help Prevent Fentanyl-related Harm?
Some choose fentanyl nasal sprays; while others like to keep it simple and go with fentanyl pills to allow them to monitor their intake. A tiny dose of fentanyl, about the size of 10 to 15 grains of table salt (2 mg), is enough for a lethal dose, which is why so many drug users fall victim to drug overdose deaths. An overdose happens when a drug produces serious adverse effects and life-threatening symptoms. When people overdose on fentanyl, their breathing can slow or stop. This can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the brain, a condition called hypoxia.
Scientists are also working on opioid vaccines that would cause a person to develop antibodies to particular opioids and block their effects. This would offer a new approach to treating substance abuse, but the results of this research will likely not be known for years to come. At the same time, the Biden administration attempted to curb illicit opioid distribution domestically. In 2022, the DEA seized double the amount of fentanyl compared to the prior year, and it released a public alert about fake prescription drugs laced with fentanyl—six out of ten fake pills contain a lethal dose of the drug.
Levels Of Care
Illegal fentanyl, however, has an unknown amount of fentanyl and may be mixed with other drugs, which may result in harmful behaviors. In a medical setting, people take prescribed fentanyl for severe or chronic pain. Discarded fentanyl patches may still contain significant amounts of the drug. This can result in misuse if someone removes the gel contents from discarded patches. There are a variety of risks that accompany the use of street fentanyl.
This medicine should also come with a Medication Guide and patient instructions. Read it again each time you refill your prescription in case there is new information. They found people who were purchasing for personal use — including seven who overdosed and died — as well as the people buying to set up their own distribution network in America. They have been working on this investigation since last year, and their full findings will be reviewed at a Senate hearing on Thursday. Check with your doctor before taking any of these medicines while you are using this medicine.
The Goals Of National Fentanyl Prevention And Awareness Day™ Are To:
Behind every name is a loved one— someone’s child, sibling, parent, or friend. This year’s theme focuses on hope and mental health, underscoring the importance of healing, reducing stigma around seeking treatment for substance use, and sharing lifesaving information about prevention. The number of overdose deaths in the U.S. from synthetic opioids doubled from 2016 to 2017.
Accumulating evidence also implicate the dysbiosis of gut microbiome in the pathophysiology of drug addiction, however data regarding fentanyl use is rare144. Manipulating the compositions of the gut microbiome or its products may guide new adjuvant therapies for opioid addiction in the future. While some people knowingly consume fentanyl, many people do not know if the drugs they plan to use contain fentanyl. This is especially true of illicit counterfeit pills, which are often made to resemble prescription medications such as oxycodone or benzodiazepines, but really contain fentanyl.
Health Conditions
This is why it is so important to administer naloxone as soon as possible. Some fentanyl analogs are legally manufactured for medical purpose like treating severe pain in humans and sedating animals. Others (such as illicitly manufactured carfentanil) are illegally produced for non-medical use.
Fentanyl Is Often Disguised As Other Drugs
Help educate your loved one on the risks of fentanyl and make sure they know these harm reduction strategies. Fentanyl is a medicine that can harm or cause death to a child. Patients and caregivers should keep this medicine out of the reach of children.
Detection For Harm Reduction Purposes
Its potency means you might think you’re getting a bargain, as a little goes a long way. But this financial perception masks a harsh reality — its strength makes accurate dosing a gamble. In a study about fentanyl sales on the dark web, a gram of non-pharmaceutical fentanyl was priced at an average of $1,470 for listings offering less than 5 grams.
