As of writing, deaths from opioid-related overdoses in the US had risen to 50,000 each year.
Most of those deaths can be laid at the feet of fentanyl.
Nearly 80 times as powerful as morphine, fentanyl is an extremely potent opioid painkiller. Intended for people recovering from surgery or dealing with severe chronic pain, most fentanyl on the street is manufactured in clandestine labs outside the US and smuggled here by criminal gangs.
The lethality is reason alone to avoid fentanyl abuse. However, it often shows up disguised in other drugs. Some dealers will cut their stashes with fentanyl to extend it; others will use fentanyl in pill presses to make counterfeit pills. A user expecting, say, molly can find themselves taking toxic amounts of fentanyl.
Detoxing from fentanyl isn’t easy. Like other opioids, fentanyl withdrawal can be very uncomfortable. Professional, medical detox is key to recovery from fentanyl abuse.