True or False​: ​Ready to Put Your Fentanyl​ Knowledge to the Test?

True. Extremely potent, fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Dangerously strong, it has been responsible for a rising number of deaths. From 2014 to 2015, deaths involving synthetic opiates such as fentanyl increased by almost 75 percent.

False. Fentanyl can be rapidly absorbed through the skin.

Ohio police officer Chris Green learned this first hand. After a drug bust, he returned to police HQ to complete the paperwork. While there, a fellow officer pointed out a white powdery substance on Green’s shirt. Thinking nothing of it, he simply wiped it away. An hour later, he was unconscious. The brief contact with the fentanyl transferred to his shirt during the bust was enough to cause an overdose. Green was given multiple doses of Narcan and revived by emergency crews.

False. Fentanyl is cheap and adds extra weight to baggies of heroin. Since most drug dealers aren’t exactly known for their moral compasses, they aren’t about to warn customers that their heroin is laced with fentanyl, which will inevitably put them at a high risk for overdose.

False. Used without caution, these patches can be deadly.

Fentanyl is frequently prescribed for patients suffering severe, ongoing pain (such as cancer patients). In need of continuous pain medication, these patients receive a transdermal patch. Patients using fentanyl patches must be cautious while taking this drug.

Two main areas are cause for concern. The first is heat. When a person gets hot, their skin dilates and absorption increases. A significant increase can be fatal, so patients must be cautious in hot weather, using saunas, hot tubs or heating pads or if they have a fever. Secondly, fentanyl patches must be disposed of carefully to protect children and pets. Dug from the garbage and mishandled, these patches can be lethal.

False. Fentanyl is so fast-acting, a lethal dose may not allow time for administration of life-saving Narcan. This drug is also so strong, emergency crews equipped with Narcan have struggled to revive those who have overdosed. Often, they must use multiple doses of Narcan and, even then, not everyone makes it.