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Posted 02/25/2022

Simple Facts About Fentanyl Poisoning

The drastic increase in opioid overdose deaths is largely due to Fentanyl poisoning.

Illegal Fentanyl is cheaper than most other drugs on the streets and is being intentionally substituted into cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs to make more money and get people hooked.

The drugs may look authentic, but there’s no way of knowing the contents. Sometimes drug dealers don’t even realize they are selling contaminated drugs.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, nearly half of illegal pills tested for Fentanyl contained lethal quantities of Fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a powerful and highly addictive opioid similar to morphine but about 50 - 100 times more potent.

It doesn’t take much Fentanyl to cause a fatal reaction. Let’s put this into perspective:

  • A lethal dose of Fentanyl for an average person is considered to be about 2 milligrams.
  • A lethal dose of cocaine starts at about 1000 milligrams.
  • A grain of rice is approximately 25 milligrams.
  • Anesthesiologists typically administer .05 to .5 milligrams of Fentanyl for a surgery depending on the type of surgery.

NCWR joins other health professionals, law enforcement officials and first responders in an effort to inform the public about this deadly situation.

Learn more:

CDC: Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Top 100,000 Annually

CDC: Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses Across the United States Driven by Synthetic Opioids Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

U.S. DEA: Facts About Fentanyl