More than 170 thousand people died in the United States from fentanyl overdoses in 2023. Almost 70 percent of those deaths were caused by that opioid. Warns an article published today in the Granma newspaper.
A synthetic drug, conceived in the laboratory. With chemical substances indicated in cases of bone fractures or surgical interventions to relieve the pain of patients. Carries a rigorous control of doses based on the specific characteristics of each person and their medical condition. Taking into account that it is a very powerful drug, the analysis was precise.
The specialized literature details that fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Therefore, when used for other purposes. Out of control or without the supervision of a health specialist, it leads to overdose in a fatal way.
The same happens when it is acquired from traffickers who mix the substance with other drugs or manufacture it arbitrarily. Outside the established scientific parameters, alter or violate requirements or production procedures with standards of international control bodies.
Also 46 percent of overdose deaths in 2023 had mixed that drug with cocaine and methamphetamine. Those who survive the overdose can suffer permanent brain damage, kidney failure, nerve damage, and pneumonia, among other sequelae.
In addition, it can cause confusion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, drowsiness and a deadly side effect called respiratory depression. Which leads to loss of consciousness, stopping breathing and dying, the publication notes.
According to experts, any use of fentanyl without a doctor’s guidance is life-threatening.
At the same time, its use has transcended the borders of the health emergency in the United States to become an instrument of political blackmail. And a pretext for the expansionist desires of Donald Trump’s administration.
With information from Prensa Latina Translated by Radio Angulo
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