By KRISTEN KIRTLEY
Assistant Editor
Fentanyl is now the top drug that has contributed to overdose deaths in the state of Oregon.
Fentanyl is an opioid that is supposed to be used to treat a person’s pain. It’s often prescribed to patients who have cancer or patients who have just had a surgery.
When prescribed by a health-care provider, fentanyl is legal. The problem is it is often stolen, inappropriately distributed or even made illegally.
Illegally manufactured fentanyl is not only more addictive, but is more dangerous to the person consuming it overall.
According to oregon.gov, seized fentanyl went from 690 dosage units to over 2 million in just four years.
Illicitly manufactured fentanyl, also referred to as IMF, is stronger than both morphine and heroin.
Unlike legal pharmaceutical fentanyl, the strength of IMF is constantly changing, so the consumer of the drug never knows the exact strength.
If the consumer mixes alcohol or other drugs with IMF, the chances of them fatally overdosing increases.
IMF can be distributed in powder or pill form. In many cases, fentanyl is also mixed with other drugs such as methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
Because fentanyl is tasteless, odorless and cannon be seen, a consumer has a potential risk of being unaware the drug they are taking is laced with fentanyl.
When IMF is in pill form, it can often resemble other common medicines such as Adderall and Xanax.
These pills can contain deadly amounts of fentanyl, and can also be sold to people on social media.
According to The Oregon Health Authority, it is estimated that 5 Oregon residents die from opioid overdose each week.
A statistic from doj.state.or.us states that in 2020, 462 Oregon residents died from an accidental opioid overdose.
That number increased by almost 100 when 548 Oregon residents died in 2021 from accidental opioid overdose.
In 2020, Oregon became the first state in the nation to pass a law that decriminalizes the possession of drugs. Although the passing of the law increased the amount of money that goes into treatment and recovery for drug users, the drug issue in Oregon has only gotten worse.
Lawmakers and voters in Oregon are now working to reverse the law that was passed just 4 years ago.
Fentynal has not just effected Oregon but has been an issue all over the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Pevention the overdose death rate has topped 112,000 for the first time in the span of a year in the U.S.
In 2019 Oklahoma had 50 deaths from Fentanyl and in 2022 609 Oklahomans had died from Fentanyl.
National Fentanyl awareness day is May 7 and National Fentanyl prevention and awareness day is August 21.
According to nationalfentanylawarenessday.org Fentanyl is involved in more American youth drug deaths than heroin, meth, cocaine, benzos and Rx durgs combined.
Fentanyl is also involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any other cause of death.
