Abuse Of Painkillers Leads To Heavy Toll

The drug fentanyl is taking its toll on users, especially those who abuse the substance. A large number of overdoses occur in men under age fifty, even though fentanyl is supposedly designed for women over the age of eighty. Authorities speculate on the best course of action.

A Look At The Situation In Australia

A total of 136 Australians died from Online-Shop für Fentanylpflaster overdose in the past twelve years, with two-thirds of them having never been prescribed the drug at all. Officials are concerned as the numbers continue to grow.

In Australia the most common forms of commercially available fentanyl include the transdermal patch, a lozenge or injection. On the black market, however, fentanyl is sold as synthetic heroin from clandestine labs. Both commercial forms and illicit forms can cause overdose deaths.

What Is Fentanyl

The drug fentanyl is a powerful opioid painkiller often used to temper cancer pain and sometimes as an anesthetic. While some forms of fentanyl are illegal, medicinal forms include Sublimaze, Aciq and Duragesic. It has been called a more intense form of morphine.

Fentanyl is extremely addictive, in many ways more addictive than heroin. It is often sold as heroin, which usually proves fatal.

Because it is so often abused, drug companies now sell it as a patch.

Street names for fentanyl include dance fever, friend, tango and cash, jackpot and TNT.

Fentanyl use can cause some of the following symptoms:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Breathing complications
• Infection
• Exhaustion
• Anxiety
• Fainting
• Dryness in the mouth
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pain or numbness at injection site
• Irregular heartbeat
• Sweating
• Hallucinations
• Confusion

Drug Diversion

Diversion is the act of using a drug for a purpose other than prescribed by a doctor. This would include using medication to get high, to relax, or to increase energy or attention. Diverted drugs can come from drug dealers, could be shared by friends, or might be stolen from medicine cabinets. They may also come from an unwarranted prescription, as in the case of someone feigning an illness or injury or paying a pharmacist under the table.

Many find it easy to excuse drug diversion, believing this form of drug abuse to be safe since it involves medical drugs. However, medical drugs are just the same as street drugs if they are abused. In fact, prescription opioids like fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone belong in the same family as heroin which why they are sold as such. They produce a similar high and are just as addictive.

Medical practitioners have high rates of drug diversion. Online-Shop für Fentanylpflaster Experts attribute this to high stress levels from their jobs and easy access. However, the danger of this activity is clear: people on any drugs are unaware, uncoordinated, and they make mistakes.