EP STARTS AT MIN 33*

Fentanyl is a powerful, rapid-acting synthetic opioid first synthesized more than 50 years ago. At the time, and to this day, it has served as an invaluable resource for medicine. It is the opioid most commonly used to initialize anesthesia worldwide, and for good reason. When used correctly, it has minimal cardiovascular effects, does not stress the body, is relatively short acting, is easy and inexpensive to synthesize, and is now familiar to clinicians working in operative medicine all over the planet. In the last 20 to 30 years, the development of new and noninvasive drug delivery systems has also enabled fentanyl to become extremely effective for both around-the-clock pain management as well as treating sudden breakthrough pain. Unfortunately, if you’ve heard of fentanyl recently it was most likely related to some form of drug overdose. While the drug itself has revolutionized medicine, its abuse in conjunction with the nationwide opioid epidemic has led to a remarkable increase in drug-related overdoses and deaths. No guest this week, this shit we ride on our own folks.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/2deede497fb943cda4f6f709547243f3

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/25/us/synthetic-heroin-seen-as-cause-in-18-deaths.html

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-24-fentanyl_N.htm

https://www.michaelshouse.com/opiate-rehab/history-of-opiates/

https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/data/analysis-resources.html

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6533a2.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6339a1.htm

https://www.michaelshouse.com/opiate-rehab/history-of-opiates/

https://www.jpain.org/article/S1526-5900(14)00905-5/pdf

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/man-receives-life-for-dealing-fentanyl-that-led-to-overdoses/

https://www.statnews.com/2019/12/03/oxycontin-history-told-through-purdue-pharma-documents/

https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2019/02/11/dangerous-fentanyl-masked-counterfeit-oxycodone-20000-pills-seized-bronx

https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7exvx/fentanyl-is-wreaking-havoc-in-tijuana-is-the-rest-of-mexico-next

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ev998e/americas-new-deadliest-drug-fentanyl