The synthetic drug fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than opioids like morphine and heroin, is showing up in more street drugs and more headlines than ever before. This is partly because more Americans are dying due to these synthetic drugs than opioids, according to a recent report in the journal JAMA.
And experts say college students who use cocaine to party and study may be particularly at risk. Just like many prescription pill abusers turn to heroin for a cheaper high, many cash-strapped students have begun to trade in the study drug Adderall for easy-to-access cocaine – and they may be unknowingly getting fentanyl, too.
Most college students have no idea where the drugs they share with friends come from or what’s really in them. Experts have said that fentanyl is being used as a cutting agent in almost every drug. “If you are using any substance, you don’t really know what you’re getting. Fentanyl can be mixed with it — and it can kill you,” health commissioner Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, told WOSU public radio.
Students who seek cocaine and end up with fentanyl-laced products are at an increased risk of the respiratory depressant effects of opioids because they have no tolerance. This can happen in mere minutes. And students don’t tote around Naloxone to reverse an overdose – and even if they did, they may not realize that since fentanyl is so powerful, the standard one to two doses of naloxone may not be enough.
So what’s the solution? Of course, your safest bet is to seek support and treatment if you find yourself or your friend or roommate using and abusing drugs.
Getting Help for Drug Abuse
For information about Hope Academy's young adult substance abuse treatment program, or to begin the admissions process for a loved one, call today: 866-930-4673.
For information about Hope Academy's young adult substance abuse treatment program, or to begin the admissions process for a loved one, call today: 866-930-4673.
