
Pills that kill: why are thousands dying from fentanyl abuse? - finid
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/dec/11/pills-that-kill-why-are-thousands-dying-from-fentanyl-abuse-
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finid
_Even as Americans are getting their heads around fentanyl, it is being
eclipsed. In September, the DEA issued a warning about the rise of a fentanyl
variant that is 100 times more powerful – carfentanil, a drug used to
tranquilise elephants._

Wait! Fentanly is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent
than morphine, but carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, and
folks are still taking it.

That's nuts, just freakign nuts.

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ceejayoz
I'm never sure why per-unit potency gets mentioned by media articles about
narcotic drugs. It's not like someone taking a gram of heroin would go and
take a gram of carfentanil.

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droopyEyelids
It is important when the lethal dose starts being measured in the range of 5
micrograms, well below the ability of an unaided human to discern.

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ceejayoz
Drug users aren't measuring out micrograms from a vial of pure medication.
It'll be in a solution or pill form.

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droopyEyelids
you're missing the point so hard it's crazy. drugs that are lethal in the
single microgram range can not be safely handled outside of an actual
laboratory with rigiorous safety standards and techniques.

It doesn't matter what form it reaches the end user in when every step of the
production process has the potential for invisible lethal mistakes due to the
slightest lapse of attention or proceedure- and that assumes the original
dosage proceedure was designed correctly.

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finid
_But it is likely she was getting the pills from Mexican cartels using
ingredients from labs in China where production of fentanyl’s ingredients is
legal._

If ingredients for fentanyl originates from China, are the chinese abusing it
like we do here?

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jrnichols
With the rise of the middle class in China, illicit drug usage has risen along
with it.

[http://www.dw.com/en/china-fighting-uphill-battle-in-war-
on-...](http://www.dw.com/en/china-fighting-uphill-battle-in-war-on-
drugs/a-19072445)

