FACTS ABOUT FENTANYL
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Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that poses an immediate and growing risk of unintentional overdose in Oregon and across the United States.
What you need to know about fentanyl
According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths from synthetic opioids rose 97-fold from 1999 to 2021. That’s a significantly greater rise than any other category of drugs. Fentanyl is now involved in more deaths of Americans under age 50 than any other single cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide, and other accidents.
Scarier yet, the odorless and tasteless drug is a silent killer. It’s often used as an additive in fake prescription pills — as well as common street drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, and heroin — leading many to overdose without ever being aware that they are ingesting the drug.
Because fentanyl is so often unknowingly taken, warning signs can be hard to identify, and overdoses difficult to combat. But there are concrete steps that you can take to protect yourself or a loved one from a fentanyl-related tragedy.
Steps to help prevent Fentanyl overdoses
- Have an open and honest conversation with family and friends about the threat. Make it clear that fentanyl can be found in fake pills and street drugs and that it is undetectable in those drugs until it is too late.
- Learn to identify the signs of an overdose, including being unresponsive, slow or no breathing, gurgling sounds, and/or blue or gray skin and lips.
- Because a fentanyl overdose usually incapacitates the victim, avoid using drugs alone.
- Learn how to administer Naloxone, or Narcan, which is a safe, legal overdose reversal medication available from any pharmacist. Carry it if you or someone you love is a drug user.
- If you suspect an overdose, call 911 immediately. Remember that the law offers protection for those seeking help in a drug-related overdose.
