I goofed. I probably should have used the Fentanyl Megathread, but didn't think to do that. So I'm ooing to repost this there. BUt I hope it can also be left up here, because I believe it should get all of the exposure it can possibly get since it may well save some lives.
I just saw a closed thread about an unknown Fentanyl patch, which was closed because the poster used SWIM instead of I, which isn't allowed. And that made me remember a documentary I recently saw which I thought should be shared here, along with some tips concerning safety when using opoids, for everyone's sake.
A really big Fentanyl counterfeiting operation has developed in the last few years. The original source for the drug, chemical precursors for making the drug, and even pill presses, is China. They ship lots of stuff to the U.S. under false labelling to get it through customs, not hard when you consider how very, very few commercial shipments get physically inspected (nearly none) unless customs has a tip or something. So a lot of bogus Fentanyl is being made, and has even gotten into regular medical supply channels in some few cases. The biggest problem with bogus Fentanyl is twofold. First, counterfeiters now have the equipment they need to make counterfeits that cannot be told apart from the real thing, whether it's a pill, a tablet, a capsule, or a patch, short of testing in a lab. They even produce packaging that's identical to the legitimate drug's packaging. The second thing is dosage level. A lot of the counterfeit stuff is NOT the dosage it's labelled to be. The actual dosage can be a lot less than it's labelled as, or a lot more. In the first case, you get ripped off. But in the second case, you can get dead.
I'm not dumb enough to try to tell anyone to never use any Fentanyl that they didn't get from completely legit channels (pharmacy, Dr., hospital, clinic). If someone needs an opoid, they're going to use whatever opoid they can get their hands on. But there has been an ever climbing number of Fentanyl (and other opoid) OD deaths all through the U.S., and you can and should take precautions. An obvious one is don't use anyhting you haven't seen someone else use first. But since that isn't always possible, get some Naloxone (Narcan). More and more states are passing laws allowing literally anyone to get and possess Naloxone now that it's available in a nasal administration syringe, rather than having to be injected with a needle. Some require getting a prescription, but there isn't any restriction on who can be given the prescription. So get some Naloxone. Then if you're going to use any Fentanyl (or any opoid, for that matter) that you aren't absolutely sure is what it's supposed to be, have someone else with you and make sure they know how to administer the Naloxone if you do OD.
And while I'm on this topic, there's another thing you can do safety-wise. People die from an opioid OD because they stop breathing. Period. Opoids don't stop the heart (until the lack of oxygen from the stopped breathing stops it), and don't screw with the nervous system like some things, especially cocaine and speed, do. You just go to sleep and then go into respiratpry arrest. So it's really easy to keep someone who has OD'd from an opioid alive. Just learn what's called rescue breathing. It isn't even full CPR, there are no chest compressions or anything, it's just sealing off the nose and blowing into the person's mouth, to keep some oxygen going through his lungs. Yes, even the air that you breathe out still has enough oxygen in it to keep someone else alive. It's so simple to both teach and to do that I do not understand why states do not have laws requiring that every treatment facility that treats opoid addiction must teach it to every patient. If there were such laws, which would spread the knowledge of rescue breathing throughout the opoid using community, there'd be many, many fewer deaths. There are some techniques to it that you should learn, but it's simple and anyone can do it. If someone ever ODs on an opioid, and someone performs rescue breathing on him, that person will still be alive when medical help arrives. I know many people are scared of being involved when "officials" arrive, but a lot of states have also passed laws that prevent the other people at the location of an OD from getting into any trouble; you should check on the situation in your state. And even if where you are the cops are going to get your ID and run you through the computers, you need to decide whether staying out of trouble is worth letting someone, probably a friend, die when you could have saved him. Either get and carry Naloxone or learn rescue breathing, and you'll never see someone die from an opiod OD.
I just saw a closed thread about an unknown Fentanyl patch, which was closed because the poster used SWIM instead of I, which isn't allowed. And that made me remember a documentary I recently saw which I thought should be shared here, along with some tips concerning safety when using opoids, for everyone's sake.
A really big Fentanyl counterfeiting operation has developed in the last few years. The original source for the drug, chemical precursors for making the drug, and even pill presses, is China. They ship lots of stuff to the U.S. under false labelling to get it through customs, not hard when you consider how very, very few commercial shipments get physically inspected (nearly none) unless customs has a tip or something. So a lot of bogus Fentanyl is being made, and has even gotten into regular medical supply channels in some few cases. The biggest problem with bogus Fentanyl is twofold. First, counterfeiters now have the equipment they need to make counterfeits that cannot be told apart from the real thing, whether it's a pill, a tablet, a capsule, or a patch, short of testing in a lab. They even produce packaging that's identical to the legitimate drug's packaging. The second thing is dosage level. A lot of the counterfeit stuff is NOT the dosage it's labelled to be. The actual dosage can be a lot less than it's labelled as, or a lot more. In the first case, you get ripped off. But in the second case, you can get dead.
I'm not dumb enough to try to tell anyone to never use any Fentanyl that they didn't get from completely legit channels (pharmacy, Dr., hospital, clinic). If someone needs an opoid, they're going to use whatever opoid they can get their hands on. But there has been an ever climbing number of Fentanyl (and other opoid) OD deaths all through the U.S., and you can and should take precautions. An obvious one is don't use anyhting you haven't seen someone else use first. But since that isn't always possible, get some Naloxone (Narcan). More and more states are passing laws allowing literally anyone to get and possess Naloxone now that it's available in a nasal administration syringe, rather than having to be injected with a needle. Some require getting a prescription, but there isn't any restriction on who can be given the prescription. So get some Naloxone. Then if you're going to use any Fentanyl (or any opoid, for that matter) that you aren't absolutely sure is what it's supposed to be, have someone else with you and make sure they know how to administer the Naloxone if you do OD.
And while I'm on this topic, there's another thing you can do safety-wise. People die from an opioid OD because they stop breathing. Period. Opoids don't stop the heart (until the lack of oxygen from the stopped breathing stops it), and don't screw with the nervous system like some things, especially cocaine and speed, do. You just go to sleep and then go into respiratpry arrest. So it's really easy to keep someone who has OD'd from an opioid alive. Just learn what's called rescue breathing. It isn't even full CPR, there are no chest compressions or anything, it's just sealing off the nose and blowing into the person's mouth, to keep some oxygen going through his lungs. Yes, even the air that you breathe out still has enough oxygen in it to keep someone else alive. It's so simple to both teach and to do that I do not understand why states do not have laws requiring that every treatment facility that treats opoid addiction must teach it to every patient. If there were such laws, which would spread the knowledge of rescue breathing throughout the opoid using community, there'd be many, many fewer deaths. There are some techniques to it that you should learn, but it's simple and anyone can do it. If someone ever ODs on an opioid, and someone performs rescue breathing on him, that person will still be alive when medical help arrives. I know many people are scared of being involved when "officials" arrive, but a lot of states have also passed laws that prevent the other people at the location of an OD from getting into any trouble; you should check on the situation in your state. And even if where you are the cops are going to get your ID and run you through the computers, you need to decide whether staying out of trouble is worth letting someone, probably a friend, die when you could have saved him. Either get and carry Naloxone or learn rescue breathing, and you'll never see someone die from an opiod OD.
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