What is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin and absorbed slowly through contact. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. All forms of Fentanyl can be dangerous and it’s important to know the difference.
The defining crisis of our time…
In 2019 there were only 18 fentanyl-based cases filed by the DA’s office. By 2022 there were 635, an increase of 3,428%.”
What The DA Is Doing
Fentanyl Advisement: If you continue to sell provide, distribute, and furnish fentanyl or any of its analogs, whether alone or mixed with other substances, and someone dies as a result of the fentanyl or analog you provided, you can be charged with murder.
Fentanyl Seized by Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
In 2021, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office seized 32 pounds of fentanyl.
In 2022, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office seized 186 pounds (a 477% increase).
Street Names:
Fetty, Fettucini, Fet, Fent, F, Freddy, Fenty, Apace, China Girl, China Plates, Cookie Dough, Pink Dough, Alfredo, Fredo, Talco, Polvo.
Why are they abused?
Abusing Fentanyl can cause an intense, short-term high, temporary feelings of euphoria, slowed respiration and reduced blood pressure, but also nausea, fainting, seizures, and death.
Fake Pills, Real Danger
DEA lab testing reveals that as many as six out of every ten fake pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. Most fentanyl samples being received come in a form that resemble drugs that drug users are already familiar with like a white powder or tablets made to look like other pharmaceutical pills. Without laboratory testing, the public would not know that these materials do not contain the drug(s) they are expecting, and the results are often deadly.
Drug dealers don’t sell on street corners anymore.
They sell to anyone on social media.
2022 Fatal Overdoses report
Chief Medical Examiner
Noteworthy Trends:
- In 2022, the number of fentanyl related overdoses increased by 10% compared to the previous year.
- While methamphetamine related overdoses increased in 2022, 66% of these deaths also involved fentanyl.
- The highest number of fentanyl overdose deaths were between ages 41 to 50 (51 deaths).
What is the effect of fentanyl on the body?
Similar to other opioid analgesics, fentanyl produces effects such as: relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, pupillary constriction, and respiratory depression.
Get Narcan
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a safe and legal antidote to reverse an opioid overdose.
If a loved on or someone you know may be at risk of an overdose, call Ventura County Behavioral Health about getting an Overdose Rescue Kit. If you are eligible for a kit, they will train you online on how to use Naloxone. You will then be instructed on how to pick up a kit by appointment at one of the VCBH locations.
Helpful Links
- One Pill Can Kill (www.dea.gov/onepill)
- Fentanyl & Fake Pills (www.venturacountyresponds.org/preventing-overdose/fentanyl-fake-pills)
- Fentanyl is Forever (www.fentanylventuracounty.org)
- Naloxone FAQ (www.venturacountyresponds.org/preventing-overdose/naloxone)
- County Opioid Abuse Suppression Taskforce (www.coastventuracounty.org)
- Controlled Chemical Substance Program (https://oag.ca.gov/bi/ccsp)
- Safe Choices Ventura County (www.safechoicesvc.org)