A short whiteboard/hand drawn video that explains what fentanyl is and how illicit fentanyl can harm people. Fentanyl was detected in 80% of overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2017.
Given its recent mass publicity you’ve probably heard of a drug called fentanyl so why are we all talking about it what is fentanyl and why is it critical we all know more about it fentanyl is a manufactured opioid drug that’s medically administered for pain management and can be ingested several ways including through the skin compared to other painkillers fentanyl
Is incredibly strong it’s so powerful that an amount the size of two grains of salt is enough to overdose and kill what’s more the drug is odorless tasteless and colorless making its detection very difficult by 2017 fentanyl was detected in over 80% of opioid overdose deaths it’s finding its way into pressed pills and powders sometimes unintentionally through cross
Contamination this has significantly increased the amount of people who are now at high risk of accidental overdose unless tested which is difficult and expensive there is no way of knowing what drugs contain fentanyl even if one person can use from a batch and not be harmed it doesn’t mean that another person will get the same result think of baking chocolate
Chip cookies do all cookies come out with the same number of chocolate chips more likely one cookie could have four or five chips and another eight and another only two it’s the same with grains of fentanyl no two pills containing fentanyl have equal amounts aside from those being treated with medical fentanyl there are three main groups who might come into contact
With the drug the first group is people who might regularly use illicit substances or opioid painkillers by that we might mean substances like cocaine heroin oxycontin morphine or xanax these people might have developed a dependence to painkillers for management of past injuries or traumas regular users have the most contact with fentanyl but they might have also
Developed tolerances to opioids so that lower doses may have a less deadly effect they are also more likely to be experienced in practices that could reduce the harm of the fentanyl overdose despite this regular users are still at high risk of overdosing fentanyl is powerful things can go wrong quickly even with safer practices our second group is people who might
Use pills or powders recreationally perhaps at concerts parties or gatherings while recreational users are not typically looking for fentanyl they risk running into it while using a different contaminated drug finally there are people who might be curious about trying pills or powders this group may or may not have already used cannabis or alcohol and could find
Themselves in a scenario where trying a new substance is appealing inexperienced users are not prepared for how any one substance might react with their unique bodies and everybody is affected by drugs differently they also have no substance tolerance so the drugs effects can be much stronger a new user might accept a small dose of a drug from a trusted source and
Still wind up with fentanyl poisoning there’s just no way of knowing if fentanyl contamination has occurred trusting your source isn’t enough to protect you these days informing our decisions regarding illicit substances using our critical thinking skills while weighing the risks and talking with people we trust are great places to start in keeping ourselves safe
If we were told that 80 percent of peanut free granola bars had been contaminated with peanuts what would we do as a community how would we act to keep each other safe and how would people with peanut allergies assess whether to try something or not avoiding all illicit pill and powder substance use while we continue to have a poisoned drug supply is the best way
To keep yourself safe however if you or someone you know chooses to use there are some ways to prevent an accidental overdose have someone else around use one substance at a time go slow be aware of your health and tolerance and have someone around with the naloxone kit a counteract of drug to fentanyl overdoses a person might be experiencing an overdose if they
Cannot be woken up they have slow or absent breathing or they have cold skin and disk lips and nails if someone is experiencing these symptoms call 911 immediately we have a law under the good samaritan act where anyone who calls 911 who is overdosed will not be charged with simple possession and neither will the person who overdosed paramedics only want to help
The person in need for more information on fentanyl its effects on the body recognizing the signs of an overdose and how to respond take a look at the links in the video description you
Transcribed from video
Fentanyl By Vancouver Coastal Health