OT: Army Cadets

[ashokan]

I know I'm in the minority, but I disagree here. I often disagree with Big Pharma ethics, but in this case I think the drug companies are being made to be scapegoats to some degree, even if their marketing of the drugs was questionable in some cases.

The source of Fentanyl and the people selling it are protected. NY Times article about the Florida event intentionally throws a curveball. A few paragraphs down they use an info graphic blaming Purdue Pharma. Like the NBA, Disney, Apple etc. they take a knee and become collaborators.

Same for Mexican cartels. All the big multi-million busts here in NY have cartel associated illegal aliens running the drugs up in modified trucks and such (interesting thing is a lot of other aliens are very unhappy that the killer gangs they ran from are being imported in) . The cartels control the former border areas and not USA. They run the drugs and the people entering . The gov flies the people around US - including to my local airport in the middle of the night. They dont even know who they are. When 80k are dead its ignored for things like plastic bags. You can guess why kids dont know about the targeted attacks on them. They think pills are the key


Unrelated and deceptive Info panel NYT slipped in to make it seem Purdue was involved

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/us/west-point-cadets-fentanyl-overdose.html

 

[tom1944]

I know I'm in the minority, but I disagree here. I often disagree with Big Pharma ethics, but in this case I think the drug companies are being made to be scapegoats to some degree, even if their marketing of the drugs was questionable in some cases.

No prescriber that's still alive hasn't been taught that opioids can cause dependence and abuse, will cause tolerance with prolonged use, and must be used only when necessary and with extreme caution and close monitoring. It's the unethical prescribers who irresponsibly prescribed the medications, and others in the supply chain who ignored their responsibilities to see that the medications were used safely and legitimately, and the unethical patients or unethical patients' associates who diverted the opioid medications to others, and those involved in the illicit drug trade, etc, etc,.. who are primarily responsible.

Parents, educators, and other authorities or associates are also responsible for teaching children about the dangers of illicit drug use too, and especially so in this age of extremely potent and dangerous fentanyl. But to place the majority of the blame on, and bankrupt, legitimate opioid drug manufacturers is ignoring the majority of the problem, at least from what I've seen and experienced.

I do not think you are wrong. There were a number of people who failed in their fiduciary duty because of greed

 

[e5fdny]

And that is part of the problem . Explain why these students are America’s best again? They should be above the average group but what have we witnessed at the academies for a decade. As many scandals as at any other institution of higher learning. Now should they be saints ? No but they do sign a contract to avoid situations like this one. Not a good look. You most certainly can believe whatever you wish even when you are wrong . If you are going to tout them as special representatives of the United States Military then they better understand that document they sign and pledge they take.

Your words…which is what I have been saying all along.

So I guess we’re both wrong.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

I know I'm in the minority, but I disagree here. I often disagree with Big Pharma ethics, but in this case I think the drug companies are being made to be scapegoats to some degree, even if their marketing of the drugs was questionable in some cases.

No prescriber that's still alive hasn't been taught that opioids can cause dependence and abuse, will cause tolerance with prolonged use, and must be used only when necessary and with extreme caution and close monitoring. It's the unethical prescribers who irresponsibly prescribed the medications, and others in the supply chain who ignored their responsibilities to see that the medications were used safely and legitimately, and the unethical patients or unethical patients' associates who diverted the opioid medications to others, and those involved in the illicit drug trade, etc, etc,.. who are primarily responsible.

Parents, educators, and other authorities or associates are also responsible for teaching children about the dangers of illicit drug use too, and especially so in this age of extremely potent and dangerous fentanyl. But to place the majority of the blame on, and bankrupt, legitimate opioid drug manufacturers is ignoring the majority of the problem, at least from what I've seen and experienced.

I don’t disagree. It was almost a perfect storm of Purdue being misleading, the distributors turning a blind eye and doctors who didn’t give a ****.

 

[Jtung230]

I don’t disagree. It was almost a perfect storm of Purdue being misleading, the distributors turning a blind eye and doctors who didn’t give a ****.

You guys are too funny. The poor pharma company. They are 100% to blame.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

You guys are too funny. The poor pharma company. They are 100% to blame.

Have you seen this? Or read this? Can’t do either and not see that there is plenty of blame to spread out.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576

 

[Jtung230]

Have you seen this? Or read this? Can’t do either and not see that there is plenty of blame to spread out.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576

Agree plenty of blame but it’s all because of big pharma. Everyone turned a blind out because big pharma paid them to.

 

[RUBOB72]

The point was this… you maintain they are something special …I agree they should special but they are not and that is the difference. They are no different then the average Jane or joe when it comes to loving a good drinking and drug party while in college. If these were Rutgers football players would people feel differently about what occurred. Top students for the most part. All things considered this is a sad day for the players, families and West Point .

 

[AZBlues]

Agree plenty of blame but it’s all because of big pharma. Everyone turned a blind out because big pharma paid them to.

I'd be interested in seeing specific examples of who Purdue paid off that caused tens of thousands of fentanyl overdose deaths each year.

There are plenty of things that Big Pharma does or has done that I don't agree with, but I've never known a physician or other medication prescriber, or a pharmacist, who didn't know that long acting opioids like Oxycontin could be highly addictive. Nothing that a drug company rep could say or do would make intelligent, ethical healthcare professionals believe otherwise or significantly change their prescribing habits. Purdue Pharma wasn't the one who prescribed, dispensed, or directly supplied the drug to those who overdosed or became addicted to opioids.

Purdue was and is a manufacturer of various opioid medications for the treatment of moderate to severe pain... Obviously there are many people who legitimately require certain of those medications for the short term treatment of acute severe pain, and there are people with chronic conditions that cause constant severe pain who legitimately require opioids just to be able to function. Until we come up with something safer and as effective for severe pain relief, unfortunately that's the way it is. It's the prescriber who has the responsibility to determine who these medications should and shouldn't be prescribed to, and to monitor the patient for proper compliance and safety, along with the patient's pharmacist and certain others... Any prescriber or person in a position of authority who took money from Big Pharma to ignore the dangers of a known narcotic should lose his or her license and should be prosecuted.

 

[cicero grimes]

This is a really big problem. I dont think most realize how casual cocaine use is amongst people in their 20’s. Im one of veryyyyy few people i know who doesnt do cocaine. I **** you not, if im in a bar in nyc of 100 people on their 20’s, i’d put the number at 60 of them will do cocaine that night.

Youll be out at a bar or a house party and its just everywhere and everyone is doing it. People will call u soft or a ***** for not doing it but no way im taking that chance. Its become so commonplace that fentanyl is getting into cocaine. Its gotten worse. There is speculation that china is actually largely responsible for cutting it in.

but bottomline, share stories like this with your friends, its simply not worth it.

This was the same thing in the 80's. History repeats itself.

 

[Rutgers Chris]

I'd be interested in seeing specific examples of who Purdue paid off that caused tens of thousands of fentanyl overdose deaths each year.

There are plenty of things that Big Pharma does or has done that I don't agree with, but I've never known a physician or other medication prescriber, or a pharmacist, who didn't know that long acting opioids like Oxycontin could be highly addictive. Nothing that a drug company rep could say or do would make intelligent, ethical healthcare professionals believe otherwise or significantly change their prescribing habits. Purdue Pharma wasn't the one who prescribed, dispensed, or directly supplied the drug to those who overdosed or became addicted to opioids.

Purdue was and is a manufacturer of various opioid medications for the treatment of moderate to severe pain... Obviously there are many people who legitimately require certain of those medications for the short term treatment of acute severe pain, and there are people with chronic conditions that cause constant severe pain who legitimately require opioids just to be able to function. Until we come up with something safer and as effective for severe pain relief, unfortunately that's the way it is. It's the prescriber who has the responsibility to determine who these medications should and shouldn't be prescribed to, and to monitor the patient for proper compliance and safety, along with the patient's pharmacist and certain others... Any prescriber or person in a position of authority who took money from Big Pharma to ignore the dangers of a known narcotic should lose his or her license and should be prosecuted.

They admitted to it, in federal court…
““Purdue admitted that it marketed and sold its dangerous opioid products to healthcare providers, even though it had reason to believe those providers were diverting them to abusers,” said Rachael A. Honig, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. “The company lied to the Drug Enforcement Administration about steps it had taken to prevent such diversion, fraudulently increasing the amount of its products it was permitted to sell. Purdue also paid kickbacks to providers to encourage them to prescribe even more of its products.”

 

[ashokan]

Caught the dealer

"A suspect believed to be connected to a group of spring breakers who overdosed on cocaine laced with fentanyl has been named as 21-year-old Axel Giovany Casseus.

Casseus, of Lauderhill, near Fort Lauderdale, was arrested on Friday night in Wilton Manors, Florida, for allegedly selling cocaine to an undercover officer.

He was charged with one felony count of trafficking cocaine of less than 200 grams and is being held at the Broward Main Jail, with bail set at $50,000, according to The Sun-Sentinel. "

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...r-officer-connected-West-Point-overdoses.html

 

[fsg2_rivals]

I'd be interested in seeing specific examples of who Purdue paid off that caused tens of thousands of fentanyl overdose deaths each year.

There are plenty of things that Big Pharma does or has done that I don't agree with, but I've never known a physician or other medication prescriber, or a pharmacist, who didn't know that long acting opioids like Oxycontin could be highly addictive. Nothing that a drug company rep could say or do would make intelligent, ethical healthcare professionals believe otherwise or significantly change their prescribing habits. Purdue Pharma wasn't the one who prescribed, dispensed, or directly supplied the drug to those who overdosed or became addicted to opioids.

Purdue was and is a manufacturer of various opioid medications for the treatment of moderate to severe pain... Obviously there are many people who legitimately require certain of those medications for the short term treatment of acute severe pain, and there are people with chronic conditions that cause constant severe pain who legitimately require opioids just to be able to function. Until we come up with something safer and as effective for severe pain relief, unfortunately that's the way it is. It's the prescriber who has the responsibility to determine who these medications should and shouldn't be prescribed to, and to monitor the patient for proper compliance and safety, along with the patient's pharmacist and certain others... Any prescriber or person in a position of authority who took money from Big Pharma to ignore the dangers of a known narcotic should lose his or her license and should be prosecuted.

What a steaming load of horseshit. Just follow the money. It certainly wasn't originating from the doctors.

Or is there some other reason these doctors, ethical or unethical, were overprescribing this particular drug?

Which is why it played out how it did. No need to try to rewrite history to defend the indefensible.

 

[AZBlues]

What a steaming load of horseshit. Just follow the money. It certainly wasn't originating from the doctors.

Or is there some other reason these doctors, ethical or unethical, were overprescribing this particular drug?

Which is why it played out how it did. No need to try to rewrite history to defend the indefensible.

Interesting reply.... I'm not trying to make Purdue Pharma or any other Big Pharma company out to be a saint, but please explain to me how Purdue Pharma is directly and solely responsible for tens of thousands of recreational drug users overdosing on illegally obtained fentanyl every year. I'd like to understand your reasoning better.

And are you a medical professional that has first hand knowledge of the situation? I've had chronic pain patients tell me that when they went to a new pain specialist, the doctor asked them straight up for a bribe in order to give them the narcotic medication that they felt they needed... There are, and always have been, greedy unethical scumbags like that who would still be scumbags who over prescribe or illicitly prescribe controlled substances regardless of what Purdue or any other manufacturer may have done. One sleazy physician in my area got busted for trading opioid and other controlled substance prescriptions for sex. Why is the manufacturer okay to blame, and not unethical prescribers like this, or unethical patients who sell their prescriptions to others for a nice profit? It still happens all the time, regardless of what Big Pharma does or doesn't do. Take away the unethical or irresponsible prescribers who prescribe the drug unnecessarily, and the medication is no longer excessively prescribed. Regardless of what Big Pharma does, somebody else has to write the prescriptions for patients.

 

[fsg2_rivals]

Interesting reply.... I'm not trying to make Purdue Pharma or any other Big Pharma company out to be a saint, but please explain to me how Purdue Pharma is directly and solely responsible for tens of thousands of recreational drug users overdosing on illegally obtained fentanyl every year. I'd like to understand your reasoning better.

And are you a medical professional that has first hand knowledge of the situation? I've had chronic pain patients tell me that when they went to a new pain specialist, the doctor asked them straight up for a bribe in order to give them the narcotic medication that they felt they needed... There are, and always have been, greedy unethical scumbags like that who would still be scumbags who over prescribe or illicitly prescribe controlled substances regardless of what Purdue or any other manufacturer may have done. One sleazy physician in my area got busted for trading opioid and other controlled substance prescriptions for sex. Why is the manufacturer okay to blame, and not unethical prescribers like this, or unethical patients who sell their prescriptions to others for a nice profit? It still happens all the time, regardless of what Big Pharma does or doesn't do. Take away the unethical prescribers who prescribe the drug unnecessarily, and the medication is no longer excessively prescribed. Regardless of what Big Pharma does, somebody else has to write the prescriptions for patients

Didn't say they were the only one to blame, but calling them a "scapegoat" is laughable. Who's the "big fish" when it comes to dealing illegal drugs? The low-level street dealer (i.e. a patient selling 'scripts) or the organization at the top making billions?

Do law-breaking doctors deserve to lose their licenses? 100 percent. Does the pharma company that knowingly pushed addictive opioids while falsely advertising them as something much less addictive deserve to go down in flames? Also 100 percent. No scapegoats or fake victims there.

Also blaming parents and educators is not a great look. Those actors will scream "don't do drugs" beyond eternity, and we all know there will be plenty of kids who won't listen.

 

[Caliknight]

I saw a bunch of plebes in the airport last year. I couldn’t have been more unimpressed.

 

[AZBlues]

Didn't say they were the only one to blame, but calling them a "scapegoat" is laughable. Who's the "big fish" when it comes to dealing illegal drugs? The low-level street dealer (i.e. a patient selling 'scripts) or the organization at the top making billions?

Do law-breaking doctors deserve to lose their licenses? 100 percent. Does the pharma company that knowingly pushed addictive opioids while falsely advertising them as something much less addictive deserve to go down in flames? Also 100 percent. No scapegoats or fake victims there.

Also blaming parents and educators is not a great look. Those actors will scream "don't do drugs" beyond eternity, and we all know there will be plenty of kids who won't listen.

But Purdue Pharma doesn't provide, and isn't responsible for, the illicit fentanyl that so many people who choose to abuse recreational drugs are dying from today, and Purdue makes no money from it. That's why they're not the same as the "big fish" in dealing illegal drugs, at least in this case. The thread started with a discussion of Army cadets overdosing on fentanyl due to fentanyl laced cocaine. It wasn't about the excessive prescribing of Purdue's Oxycontin for chronic pain. Day in and day out we see and hear about the legal suits and constant blaming of the opioid manufacturers for everybody's use of illicit drugs and the resulting overdoses, but rarely do we also hear about all the other players who are responsible for the situation. That's essentially my point, not that the drug manufacturers are completely innocent and deserve none of the blame for the excessive prescribing of certain opioids.

 

[AZBlues]

Also blaming parents and educators is not a great look. Those actors will scream "don't do drugs" beyond eternity, and we all know there will be plenty of kids who won't listen.

What I said was this:

"Parents, educators, and other authorities or associates are also responsible for teaching children about the dangers of illicit drug use too, and especially so in this age of extremely potent and dangerous fentanyl."

To me that's not "blaming" parents and educators. And maybe some kids won't listen as you say, but plenty of kids will and therefore won't OD on fentanyl. So I'll always feel that it's my responsibility to try to teach my kids about the dangers of illicit drugs and especially fentanyl, and I hope their educators and others that they associate with will try to as well.

 

[Knightmoves]

But Purdue Pharma doesn't provide, and isn't responsible for, the illicit fentanyl that so many people who choose to abuse recreational drugs are dying from today, and Purdue makes no money from it. That's why they're not the same as the "big fish" in dealing illegal drugs, at least in this case. The thread started with a discussion of Army cadets overdosing on fentanyl due to fentanyl laced cocaine. It wasn't about the excessive prescribing of Purdue's Oxycontin for chronic pain. Day in and day out we see and hear about the legal suits and constant blaming of the opioid manufacturers for everybody's use of illicit drugs and the resulting overdoses, but rarely do we also hear about all the other players who are responsible for the situation. That's essentially my point, not that the drug manufacturers are completely innocent and deserve none of the blame for the excessive prescribing of certain opioids.

Let’s not forget that the FDA approved OxyContin in spite of the known addictive qualities, especially the higher dosage 40 and 80mg units as well as the label modifications for the drug that were solicited by Purdue. Why doesn’t the FDA get held accountable for their role in this?

 

[newell138]

This is a really big problem. I dont think most realize how casual cocaine use is amongst people in their 20’s. Im one of veryyyyy few people i know who doesnt do cocaine. I **** you not, if im in a bar in nyc of 100 people on their 20’s, i’d put the number at 60 of them will do cocaine that night.

Youll be out at a bar or a house party and its just everywhere and everyone is doing it. People will call u soft or a ***** for not doing it but no way im taking that chance. Its become so commonplace that fentanyl is getting into cocaine. Its gotten worse. There is speculation that china is actually largely responsible for cutting it in.

but bottomline, share stories like this with your friends, its simply not worth it.

Agreed. I know a lot of my daughters friends do it on the weekends, she said it’s very common. She’s in the same camp as you and I sent her and some of her friends this story. That alone would make me stop instantly even when I was in my 20s

 

[tom1944]

Agreed. I know a lot of my daughters friends do it on the weekends, she said it’s very common. She’s in the same camp as you and I sent her and some of her friends this story. That alone would make me stop instantly even when I was in my 20s

I agree it should make kids think long and hard about using

But we all thought we were indestructible at that age

 

[greenknight]

I was going to ask...how the hell does it make sense to use a drug like Fentanyl just to cut cocaine. It has to be much more expensive than traditional items such as baking soda. I thought I heard it creates addiction much faster

As I earned thru our circumstance is that if you were doing coke with fent on a regular basis and your body got used to it and then get off the coke for awhile and then go back and do it again just once your heart cannot take it. Very sad. At the end of the day all I know is that my girls lost a cousin they were very close to

 

[RUBOB72]

The whole incident is quite disturbing in the sense that it is now a daily thing . Yet , if these are some of our best , brightest and potential leaders then we are failing to get the message through to them . The examples of what can and will happen needs to emphasized . The potential to place this into many other commodities such as food is more than scary.

 

[e5fdny]

The whole incident is quite disturbing in the sense that it is now a daily thing . Yet , if these are some of our best , brightest and potential leaders then we are failing to get the message through to them . The examples of what can and will happen needs to emphasized . The potential to place this into many other commodities such as food is more than scary.

Maybe they aren’t?

I mean who knows, this group could be made up of those “Commandant/Superintendant appointments” mentioned earlier in the thread.

Some of those could be more eh than great.

 

[RUBOB72]

While in college I knew many fellow student/ athletes in many sports who were some of the biggest abusers of excessive party time . It was an after thought for most that they were violating a simple thing …their body. Now most had no severe effects but they also had this aura of being impervious to anything dangerous. These were back then smart or potentially good to very good students. Most from very good families and schools . Educators cared more about the actual teaching of their subjects rather than all the nonsense of the 2000’s . Do not assume these supposed KIDS are ADULTS until they can show otherwise.

 

[Jm0513]

Instead of those useless talks in health class every child/teen should be exposed to Soft White Underbelly a YouTube channel with real addicts. People who are using Fent, heroin, meth and alcohol and listen to their stories of addiction.
It would scare the **** out of me if I saw a person sick and struggling. A commercial with a fried egg stopped how many kids from trying drugs?
There is a huge crisis out there and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

 

[mdk02]

Instead of those useless talks in health class every child/teen should be exposed to Soft White Underbelly a YouTube channel with real addicts. People who are using Fent, heroin, meth and alcohol and listen to their stories of addiction.
It would scare the **** out of me if I saw a person sick and struggling. A commercial with a fried egg stopped how many kids from trying drugs?
There is a huge crisis out there and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

I remember the fried egg commercial. The other in that series was more interesting. Showed 19-22 year old male who was saying something like "Hey, I party a little, get high, that's cool." Then asked what would happen if someone sold to his younger sister. Volcanic eruption.

 

[MADHAT1]

I remember the fried egg commercial. The other in that series was more interesting. Showed 19-22 year old male who was saying something like "Hey, I party a little, get high, that's cool." Then asked what would happen if someone sold to his younger sister. Volcanic eruption.

anti drug commercials seldom hit the mark.
Since the Nixon era America has been behind the "8 ball" when it comes to making people want to avoid taking drugs.
Maybe it's time to put those video's like JmO513 posted here in grammar schools all across out country and have addiction counselors present honest commentary about those videos to the kids that see them.
No reefer madness type of BS that just make kids disbelieve what they are told about drug addiction.

 

[e5fdny]

anti drug commercials seldom hit the mark.
Since the Nixon era America has been behind the "8 ball" when it comes to making people want to avoid taking drugs.
Maybe it's time to put those video's like JmO513 posted here in grammar schools all across out country and have addiction counselors present honest commentary about those videos to the kids that see them.
No reefer madness type of BS that just make kids disbelieve what they are told about drug addiction.

A “Scared Straight” approach might be the way to go.

 

[RUBOB72]

Health class 1965 dealing with drugs of the time heroin , marijuana , amphetamines ( speed) , LSD . Watching addicts shooting up was enough to put an indelible mark on my brain. Watching some of my former friends give their lives over to hard drugs was possibly the saddest part of that era. Some sought help and survived while others simply disappeared from my circle of life. We never learn from our history since time began.

 

[rureadyforsomefootball]

Health class 1965 dealing with drugs of the time heroin , marijuana , amphetamines ( speed) , LSD . Watching addicts shooting up was enough to put an indelible mark on my brain. Watching some of my former friends give their lives over to hard drugs was possibly the saddest part of that era. Some sought help and survived while others simply disappeared from my circle of life. We never learn from our history since time began.

Lost more than a couple of kids I played ball with in The Burg to heroin and AIDS. I grew up in the West Keansburg part of Hazlet so we played our Pop Warner Football and Little League Baseball in Keansburg. More than 10 kids I personally knew would drive to NYC, buy heroin, shoot up there, sharing needles with drug addicts before they knew much about AIDS. Some great ballplayers and football players believe me were among that group. I'm talking 1970-75 when Keansburg HS even as a Group 1 school, would have kicked Raritan HS a Group 4 school at the time. Told many of my classmates that, and plenty didn't believe me since they were hung up on school size. I played with kids from both schools, I know. I'm a 1973 RHS grad here, and it was such a waste of life.

 

[mildone_rivals]

One sleazy physician in my area got busted for trading opioid and other controlled substance prescriptions for sex.

For sex? Terrible. Just terrible.

You wouldn’t happen to have her contact info, would you? Just so I can, you know, chastise her personally.

 

[RUBlackout7]

I was going to ask...how the hell does it make sense to use a drug like Fentanyl just to cut cocaine. It has to be much more expensive than traditional items such as baking soda. I thought I heard it creates addiction much faster

It doesn’t make sense. I assume it’s added in error or like kyk said, to kill.

The fent high is very different than a coke high. If it doesn’t kill the person, it’s definitely not going to make that person to do that coke again.

 

[RUBlackout7]

Agreed. I know a lot of my daughters friends do it on the weekends, she said it’s very common. She’s in the same camp as you and I sent her and some of her friends this story. That alone would make me stop instantly even when I was in my 20s

Send them this link as well. They’ll probably never stop using, but maybe they’ll test next time.

https://dancesafe.org/product/fentanyl-test-strips-pack-of-10-free-shipping/

 

[MADHAT1]

It doesn’t make sense. I assume it’s added in error or like kyk said, to kill.

The fent high is very different than a coke high. If it doesn’t kill the person, it’s definitely not going to make that person to do that coke again.

it's probably like the speed-ball effect of mixing heroin and cocaine .
That was a popular way to get high for some and mixing fentanyl with coke
might be to get that type of user to buy that type of cocaine

.Those that seel illegal drugs are always looking for products that create a market, not kill the user.

 

[mildone_rivals]

it's probably like the speed-ball effect of mixing heroin and cocaine .
That was a popular way to get high for some and mixing fentanyl with coke
might be to get that type of user to buy that type of cocaine

.Those that seel illegal drugs are always looking for products that create a market, not kill the user.

A lot of the issues are probably also caused by sloppy cross-contamination during handling. There's some crazy logic to adding tiny amounts of fentanyl to heroin. There's really not a lot of logic to doing so for coke given the different degree to which coke users build up a tolerance versus heroin users.

Another more dire problem, albeit less common from what I understand, is when someone mixes Carfentanil into drugs (https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2016/09/22/dea-issues-carfentanil-warning-police-and-public). From the article, Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, and Carfentanil is 100 times more powerful than Fentanyl.

Unless it's terrorists producing the drugs, it does seem unlikely that the cartels or dealers want to kill their customers. However, how many dealers out there can be trusted be adhering to pharmacological best practices when cutting the illegal drugs they sell?

 

[AZBlues]

it's probably like the speed-ball effect of mixing heroin and cocaine .
That was a popular way to get high for some and mixing fentanyl with coke
might be to get that type of user to buy that type of cocaine

.Those that seel illegal drugs are always looking for products that create a market, not kill the user.

And from what I've read, the primary reasons that those in the illegal drug trade add fentanyl is because it's cheap to make, doesn't require much added since it's so potent, provides a narcotic high, and most importantly (according to the articles I read) it makes the drug combination with cocaine much more physically addictive, so users who use frequently will want and need more of the drug to avoid serious physical withdrawal symptoms. More sales for the dealers. The more addicts they can create, the better for them. The ones who OD and die from using are just collateral damage to them, outweighed by the financial benefits of increased sales.

 

[RUBOB72]

I’ll assume most know where fentanyl is used medically ? From seeing some recent posts not certain anyone realizes it does have legal usage but controlled.

 

[AZBlues]

I’ll assume most know where fentanyl is used medically ? From seeing some recent posts not certain anyone realizes it does have legal usage but controlled.

Yes it has a legal and legitimate use just like Oxycontin does, but it must be used with extreme caution due to the potency and increased risks of the drug. It's rarely used outside of hospitals for acute pain, except occasionally for cancer breakthrough pain when other opioid products don't control the pain adequately.. For chronic pain where constant and prolonged opioid pain relief is required, the most commonly prescribed fentanyl product is a long acting skin patch (brand name Duragesic patches, or generic fentanyl patches). And because the medication is so potent and the risk of respiratory depression is so high, the patch is only indicated for opioid tolerant patients who have been on significant dosages of other opioids for at least a week prior to starting the patch...

 

[RUBOB72]

Yes it has a legal and legitimate use just like Oxycontin does, but it must be used with extreme caution due to the potency and increased risks of the drug. It's rarely used outside of hospitals for acute pain, except occasionally for cancer breakthrough pain when other opioid products don't control the pain adequately.. For chronic pain where constant and prolonged opioid pain relief is required, the most commonly prescribed fentanyl product is a long acting skin patch (brand name Duragesic patches, or generic fentanyl patches). And because the medication is so potent and the risk of respiratory depression is so high, the patch is only indicated for opioid tolerant patients who have been on significant dosages of other opioids for at least a week prior to starting the patch...

You sir understand the drug from all aspects. Most don’t really have a clue.