Fentanyl is used as a cutting agent for heroin. It is cheap, synthetic and inexpensive to manufacture. The problem with this drug is that 100 more potent than heroin. The drug has been around medically for years, and is often used to control extreme pain, when morphine is not adequate. F Is the New H by Brendan Kiley – Features – The Stranger, Seattle’s Only Newspaper
A disturbing trend has arisen in where fentanyl is being taken not as part a cutting agent for heroin, but on its own. This new popularity of the drug has been off the radar of law enforcement. In the first part of 2010, the federal Drug Abuse Warning Network reported that out of 2,229 reports of opiates in the Seattle area, only 57 of these cases involved fentanyl.
However, the drug is out there, and being snorted and freebased at parties, and between friends. While some people report trying it at a party, and never thinking about it again, others become immediately hooked. The problem is, in many instances when people try it casually, they have no idea of what it is, or how incredibly dangerous it is. People who would never think of trying heroin are trying this drug, and becoming hooked, fast.
Apparently not only is use of the drug growing, but the death toll is as well. Due to the extreme potency of the drug, there is little, if any, margin of error for the user. Overdoses cause respiratory arrest, and death.
While no one is exactly sure where the fentanyl in Seattle is coming from, it is apparently expensive. Users report that the drug sells for $300. a gram, while heroin goes for $20 to $30. per gram.