Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid often used to treat severe pain and in a clinical setting for anesthesia. Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. It is an extremely dangerous and lethal drug, even in the smallest amounts. It takes about a 30 mg dose of heroin to be lethal. It only takes about a 3 mg dose of fentanyl to be lethal, but either of these doses is enough to kill an average-sized man.
Drug Facts About Fentanyl
The National Institute on Drug Abuse “Fentanyl Drug Facts” says:
Like heroin, morphine, and other opioid drugs, fentanyl works by binding to the body’s opioid receptors, which are found in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. After taking opioids many times, the brain adapts to the drug, diminishing its sensitivity, making it hard to feel pleasure from anything besides the drug. When people become addicted, drug-seeking and drug use take over their lives. Some drug dealers mix fentanyl with other drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. This is because it takes very little to produce a high with fentanyl, making it a cheaper option. This is especially risky when people taking drugs don’t realize they might contain fentanyl as a cheap but dangerous additive. They might be taking stronger opioids than their bodies are used to and can be more likely to overdose. To learn more about the mixture of fentanyl into other drugs, visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Facts on fentanyl. (DRUGABUSE.GOV)
Fentanyl is a Schedule II drug, which means it does have medicinal use, but it is highly addictive. 
Side-Effects of Fentanyl Abuse
Fentanyl, like any other opioid, can have different effects on people. Since everyone handles prescription medications differently, even if you know the dose, taking someone else’s prescription could kill you. Fentanyl is a very dangerous drug for many other reasons too. Fentanyl doesn’t have a smell or taste, so it’s impossible to know whether any other drug is tainted with it. Because fentanyl is so strong, there is a fine line between a dose that will get you high and a dose that could kill you. As always, mixing fentanyl with alcohol or any other drug strongly increases the likelihood of an overdose. Mixing any drugs, for that matter, is extremely dangerous.
More About Side-Effects of Fentanyl Addiction
Also, fentanyl can easily be made on the street and sold as a powder, pressed into a pill, or mixed with other drugs. These days every kind of illicit substance out here has been known to contain fentanyl often. Some people are getting cocaine mixed with fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, and other drugs. This is why the rate and number of overdose and overdose deaths continue to rise each year. Abusing fentanyl or any other opioid can be extremely dangerous. Some of the side-effects that can occur with misuse can include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Loss of appetite
- Sweating
- Slowed breathing
- Constricted pupils
- Euphoria
- Drowsiness
- Relaxation
- Difficulty concentrating
- Overdose
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