American law enforcement is seizing fentanyl pills now at a rate nearly 50-times greater than four years ago, according to a new study published today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Fentanyl is 30- to 50-times stronger than heroin, and the study’s authors raise the alarm over the danger that users will overdose, especially if they believe the pills are legitimate pharmaceutical products.
“Given that over a quarter of fentanyl seizures are now in pill form, people who obtain counterfeit pills such as those disguised as prescription opioids or benzodiazepines in particular are at risk for unintentional exposure to fentanyl,” said the study by NIDA, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Other experts say the fentanyl pills have become so common in the drug market that most users have come to realize what’s in them and seek them out because they contain fentanyl.
Caleb Banta-Green, principal research scientist at the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said awareness of fentanyl pills has risen quickly among users. In a recent survey in Washington State, two-thirds of those who used fentanyl said they did so “on purpose.” They said they consumed fentanyl most often in pill form.
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