2023-05-31 14:40:24
Drugs
In New York, fentanyl replaces heroin without the knowledge of drug addicts
The powerful opioid is driving a dramatic rise in fatal overdoses in the United States, but only 18% of addicts take it voluntarily.
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Manufactured in a laboratory, at lower costs than heroin, fentanyl has flooded the American drug market for years.
via REUTERS
In New York, more than 80% of drug users take fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid behind a dramatic rise in fatal overdoses in the United States, but only 18% voluntarily, according to a study which underlines the dangers of addiction to this product.
Manufactured in a laboratory, at lower costs than heroin, fentanyl has flooded the American drug market for years, and caused an estimated 70,000 overdose deaths in 2022, out of a total of 106,000 in the country. , a record.
The opioid crisis is one of the number one public health issues in the United States, and the U.S. Drug Administration (FDA) recently authorized the non-prescription sale of an antidote to fentanyl overdoses, Narcan (naloxone), to reverse this trend.
18% took it intentionally
However, if “the overwhelming majority of people questioned” in the study “said that heroin was their main drug”, they “seem to have few means of avoiding fentanyl”, explains its author, Courtney McKnight, Clinical Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at New York University School of Global Public Health.
To achieve these results, his team conducted toxicological analyzes on a sample of 313 drug users, who all responded to a questionnaire in parallel – 162 of them even responding to more in-depth interviews – between October 2021 and December 2022.
As a result, 83% of participants tested positive for fentanyl, with or without heroin. But “only 18% said they had recently used fentanyl intentionally,” add the results of the study, published Wednesday in the “International Journal of Drug Policy”.
Overdoses are skyrocketing
For Courtney McKnight, the danger is an increased addiction to fentanyl, much more powerful than heroin, and therefore an increased risk of overdoses. Fentanyl “is a demon”, but “heroin today is not really good, it’s shit”, explains Doug, a user quoted in the study. “If you know you’re taking fentanyl, you know you’re going to smell it and get high.”
“Almost all of the members of our sample said they were worried regarding overdosing,” says Courtney McKnight. According to their responses, nearly one in four users had overdosed at least once in the previous six months.
“Fentanyl is a devil, but heroin today isn’t really good, it’s crap.”
Doug, a user quoted in the study
New York has seen the number of fatal overdoses skyrocket in recent years, from 942 in 2015 to 2,668 in 2021. The study authors recommend ways to expand the use of naloxone and the access to substitution products, as well as support for supervised drug injection rooms, two of which opened in New York in 2021.
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(AFP)
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