How powerful is fentanyl as an illegal drug and why is it so popular with drug dealers?
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'Fentanyl' is a type of synthetic opioid and is used as a powerful painkiller. However, it is highly addictive and is illegally distributed as a drug in the United States, which has become a social problem. Kurzgesagt, a YouTube channel that deals with science-related topics, explains what kind of drug fentanyl is.
Why Does Fentanyl Feel So Good? - YouTube
'Pain,' which is a signal to help the body avoid harm, and 'pleasure,' which promotes good behavior for the body, are two senses important for human survival. Although the two are opposing forces, they are closely linked in terms of the body's mechanisms.
Opioid receptors, mainly found in the central nervous system, are cell surface receptors that control pain and pleasure. Even when strong pain occurs, endorphins and other brain substances are secreted and act on the opioid receptors, preventing the sensation of pain. For example, this mechanism is the reason why we don't feel pain even when we are hunting prey despite suffering severe injuries, and why we feel happy holding our children after giving birth in pain.
Endogenous substances that act on opioid receptors include endorphins and enkephalins, while the most well-known exogenous substances are morphine and heroin. The chemicals contained in poppy seeds are a type of opioid and act strongly on these opioid receptors.
Morphine and heroin are used as painkillers because they relieve pain.
Fentanyl is one of these painkillers, but Kurzgesagt describes it as 'the worst drug.'
When you use fentanyl, the pain and anxiety disappears immediately, and you are hit with an intense feeling of euphoria. Your brain's alarm system goes into a hiatus, and you feel high. But this 'high' is a trap.
The system that contains the opioid receptors is called
You will no longer be able to feel the small joys you once experienced, such as the sense of accomplishment you get from completing a task or the coffee you enjoy during your break after work. When this happens, no matter what you do, it will no longer produce any positive emotions, and you will be left with only pain.
Another problem is that opioids are highly addictive.
However, the body develops a tolerance to opioids, which means that people end up using more and more of them to chase that initial high.
And when you develop opioid tolerance, the function of 'relieving pain' no longer works. This increases anxiety, the pain is no longer relieved, and the nerves throughout the body, including the internal organs, become hypersensitive to pain. Your bones and muscles start to ache for no apparent reason, and you experience physical discomfort such as stomach pain and diarrhea forever.
Eventually, the person will begin to experience repeated episodes of extreme drowsiness and will become significantly less responsive when called upon.
Kurzgesagt calls fentanyl 'really trash heroin.'
Fentanyl is said to be 50 times more potent than heroin, but that doesn't mean 'fentanyl is 50 times better than heroin,' Kurzgesagt said.
A feature of fentanyl is that it easily passes through the blood-brain barrier, which acts as a filter for the brain. Therefore, even a small amount can have an explosive effect.
But because it's easy to get into, it's also easy to get out, and the effects wear off very quickly, so withdrawal symptoms come on quicker and are stronger than with heroin.
It's a vicious cycle of taking fentanyl again to suppress the withdrawal symptoms. And as the amount taken increases, it quickly exceeds the lethal dose. The lethal dose of fentanyl is said to be 2mg, which is about the same as a small amount on top of a pencil lead. Regular use of fentanyl will shorten your lifespan at an explosive rate.
In fact, when looking at the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States, fentanyl has been increasing rapidly since around 2014.
Between 2013 and 2023, the number of people who died from fentanyl overdoses is expected to exceed 400,000.
So why has such a dangerous drug, fentanyl, become so popular in the United States? The reason is that fentanyl is cheap to manufacture and manage. Because fentanyl is effective in very small amounts, the total amount of fentanyl supplied to the entire United States is only one truckload.
Also, because fentanyl is produced synthetically, it does not require the cultivation of vast poppy fields, as is the case with morphine and heroin.
Even more sinister, drug dealers are mixing tiny amounts of fentanyl into other drugs to encourage repeat purchases, as fentanyl is highly addictive.
In 2022, the number of deaths from pills combining anti-anxiety medications with fentanyl was approximately 16,000.
In addition, in 2023, U.S. drug enforcement authorities seized a total of 115 million pills containing fentanyl. 70% of the pills seized contained more than a lethal amount of fentanyl.
Fentanyl has no benefits outside of medical use, and taking it will significantly shorten your lifespan, no matter how safe your environment.
'If you do get fentanyl, don't go into a supernova of pleasure because the risk of that pleasure turning into a supernova of pain is far too high,' Kurzgesagt warned.
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