InvisibleEye
Bluelighter
On Global Mail, interesting article about the rise in Fentanyl use among opioid users in Australia.
Link: http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/killer-pain-meds-in-a-patch/469/
The article is too long to be copied in full here, but this graphic is interesting:
Excerpt:
«Fentanyl is relatively new to the streets, and it has become popular with addicts whose tolerance for drugs such as oxycodone has grown. Drug workers say that many addicts are “cocktailing” fentanyl, using it simultaneously with other opioids, and thereby increasing the risk of overdose.
“I think for a lot of injectors the attraction [of fentanyl] is the adrenaline rush, that this could be your last hit. It’s like anything I suppose, if you are taking it for the first time it’s good and then over time you get immune to it, so you take more,” a NSW drug worker told The Global Mail on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s a lack of knowledge about how powerful the drug is. I think over time, the more people that overdose on it, I think it will become a lot less popular. People will learn, unfortunately, from other people’s mistakes.”
New figures released by the National Coroners Information System show the number of deaths related to fentanyl misuse is rising each year. The figures don’t offer a complete picture of the issue, but are indicative of a worrying trend; the NCIS report shows that at least 26 deaths in 2011 were associated with fentanyl, compared with 10 in 2008, and at least 32 deaths related to fentanyl are still under investigation with the coroner.
The majority of these deaths were registered as unintentional, and most occurred after the drug in the fentanyl patch was extracted and injected
“The numbers are still small, I guess that is the key issue,” Dr Batey says. “Now that people are more aware [doctors will] start asking more questions about whether [patients have] been using agents other than the standard opioids and we may get a more systematic collection of accurate data coming in.”
Australia’s growing opioid death toll
In the meantime, prescription-related deaths are becoming more prevalent in rural and regional towns, according to drug workers who spoke with The Global Mail. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the misuse of prescription drugs is more frequent in these areas because access to illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine is limited.»
Link: http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/killer-pain-meds-in-a-patch/469/
The article is too long to be copied in full here, but this graphic is interesting:
Excerpt:
«Fentanyl is relatively new to the streets, and it has become popular with addicts whose tolerance for drugs such as oxycodone has grown. Drug workers say that many addicts are “cocktailing” fentanyl, using it simultaneously with other opioids, and thereby increasing the risk of overdose.
“I think for a lot of injectors the attraction [of fentanyl] is the adrenaline rush, that this could be your last hit. It’s like anything I suppose, if you are taking it for the first time it’s good and then over time you get immune to it, so you take more,” a NSW drug worker told The Global Mail on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s a lack of knowledge about how powerful the drug is. I think over time, the more people that overdose on it, I think it will become a lot less popular. People will learn, unfortunately, from other people’s mistakes.”
New figures released by the National Coroners Information System show the number of deaths related to fentanyl misuse is rising each year. The figures don’t offer a complete picture of the issue, but are indicative of a worrying trend; the NCIS report shows that at least 26 deaths in 2011 were associated with fentanyl, compared with 10 in 2008, and at least 32 deaths related to fentanyl are still under investigation with the coroner.
The majority of these deaths were registered as unintentional, and most occurred after the drug in the fentanyl patch was extracted and injected
“The numbers are still small, I guess that is the key issue,” Dr Batey says. “Now that people are more aware [doctors will] start asking more questions about whether [patients have] been using agents other than the standard opioids and we may get a more systematic collection of accurate data coming in.”
Australia’s growing opioid death toll
In the meantime, prescription-related deaths are becoming more prevalent in rural and regional towns, according to drug workers who spoke with The Global Mail. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the misuse of prescription drugs is more frequent in these areas because access to illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine is limited.»
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