Heroin's Secret

By Warren Rivera                  

The powerful pain-killer fentanyl has been making headlines lately in conjunction with the increasing number of heroin overdose deaths in our country. Drug dealers are "cutting" or adding fentanyl to heroin to make it more potent and it is leading to unintentional overdoses. Fentanyl is the most potent opioid available for use in medical treatment in the U.S. and abuse of this drug can be deadly. Fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and up to 50 times more potent than heroin. The abuse of fentanyl has increased not only because of the crackdown on prescription pain-killers and the increase in heroin abuse, but also because more of it is being illegally produced and smuggled into the U.S.

Fentanyl is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Schedule II controlled substance which means it has a high potential for abuse as well as an accepted medical use in the U.S. Fentanyl is principally used to treat severe pain in cancer patients and is produced in the form of a lozenge, pill, nasal spray or a transdermal patch. It is also administered intravenously as an anesthetic during heart surgery. (1)

While the FDA-approved fentanyl continues to be illegally diverted into the hands of addicts, other man-made versions of fentanyl are becoming more common and are causing havoc in the heroin community. Clandestinely produced fentanyl (vs the FDA-approved version) is also much more potent than traditional street heroin, and is also being used by drug traffickers. One of the more common versions of unregulated fentanyl that is added to heroin is known as acetyl fentanyl.

Acetyl fentanyl is an opioid analgesic (pain-killer) that is an analogue of fentanyl, meaning it is chemically or pharmacologically similar to fentanyl. Acetyl fentanyl can be as much as 80 times more potent than morphine and 5-15 times more potent than heroin. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other law enforcement agencies are experiencing an increase in the number of seizures of street drugs containing acetyl fentanyl. Due to increasing deaths attributed to this designer drug, on July 17, 2015, DEA has temporarily placed acetyl fentanyl into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Substances in Schedule I have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

Over 12 different analogues of fentanyl have been produced and identified as being sold illegally in the U.S. (2) Unbeknownst to the users and addicts, drug dealers are cutting heroin with fentanyl analogues and selling it as heroin on the street. Although less potent than the FDA approved fentanyl, the fentanyl analogues are still powerful enough to induce overdose in unsuspected victims, even if a "typical" dose of heroin is taken.

Acetyl fentanyl has also been detected in tablets that have been sold on the street as oxycodone. (3). Acetyl fentanyl is sold illegally on the internet as a so-called research chemical which is labeled "not for human consumption". Regardless of how it is labeled, it is illegal to purchase acetyl fentanyl in the U.S. and doing so is a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. Those who purchase it on-line will be subject to federal prosecution.

There is no existing sanctioned or authorized use for acetyl fentanyl. It is commonly produced in clandestine laboratories in China and Mexico and is commonly referred to on the street as "China-White". This designer drug is highly likely to contain other unknown contaminants that can be fatal when consumed. Acetyl fentanyl is usually an off-white powder and may be slightly darker depending on the additives.

References:
(1.) deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/fentanyl (adobe)
(2.) dea.gov/druginfo/concern_fentanyl.shtml
(3.) deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_chem_info/acetylfentanyl (adobe)

The abuse of fentanyl and its analogues is extremely dangerous. If you are interested in learning more about stopping the diversion of fentanyl, preventing heroin use, or would like to receive training from an experienced DEA Special Agent and drug diversion expert, please visit my website at [http://www.trainingidea.com]

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