Author: James Anderson

Carfentanil Exposure: Everything To Know About The Elephant Tranquilizer Drug

Synthetic opioids are man-made drugs that replicate the effects of a natural opioid. These engineered opioids are designed to reduce pain and create a euphoric reaction, thus their appeal to drug abusers. As the opioid crisis has expanded, the list and dangers have both grown, with new and extremely hazardous synthetic opioids such as carfentanil being used in the illicit drug market. Carfentanil was first synthesized by Janssen Pharmaceutical’s team of chemist in 1974.

It has since become incorporated into the synthetic opioid drug market for illicit drug use. Carfentanil has more recently been found in cutting heroin and even in fentanyl sold illicitly. Law enforcement and emergency responders have warned that illicitly produced and sold carfentanil looks similar to other drugs found on the street such as cocaine and heroin, due to its white, odorless appearance. Once they’re in the body, opiates bind themselves within the arms of opioid receptors, which are scattered liberally over the parts of the central nervous system that control breathing, including the brainstem.

What to Know About ‘Tranq,’ the Animal Sedative Infiltrating Street Drugs

In 2015, close to 300 people died due to fentanyl in Alberta—an increase of more than 75 percent from the previous year. It’s 100 times as potent as fentanyl, which makes it roughly 10,000 times stronger than morphine. If somebody you love uses any opioid drug, you should keep naloxone available at all times, and you should know how to use it. Administering naloxone isn’t difficult, and it can reverse an overdose if used quickly enough. Addiction to carfentanil alone is rare because users generally overdose long before dependence has time to develop. However, addiction can develop quickly when carfentanil is mixed with heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, or other substances.

Nitazenes: The ‘New Fentanyl’ Killing Drug Users in Europe

Public health officials say xylazine, also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope,” is infiltrating the nation’s illicit drug supply in substances such as heroin and fentanyl. Unscrupulous dealers frequently mix carfentanil and fentanyl with other drugs, which increases their profits, but substantially increases the risk of fatal overdose. All too often, even experienced drug users have no idea the heroin, cocaine, or meth they’re buying is laced with a deadly drug.

Naloxone Man: The IRL Superhero Teaching People How to Reverse Overdoses

In July, health officials in Ohio issued a warning about the drug after a string of mass overdoses where the substance was found in the heroin supply. Over just three days, 25 overdoses were reported in Akron, Ohio—four of which were fatal; and in Columbus, ten overdoses occurred in a nine-hour window, including two fatal ones. A man in Ohio was charged in connection to a death and a number of overdoses following the incidents.

Since it’s not an opioid, xylazine may not respond to naloxone, a standard treatment for opioid overdoses. An animal sedative that’s harmful to human health is showing up in street drugs across the United States, and it appears to be spreading. The drug, called xylazine, causes severe skin wounds and knocks users out for hours at a time, leaving them vulnerable and exposed. Department of Veterans Affairs, a carfentanil lethal dose is so small, it’s difficult to imagine.

Moscow theater hostage crisis

Carfentanil is an extremely powerful analog of fentanyl, that contains the potency of fentanyl magnified by 100. Due to its extreme strength and level of danger, carfentanil is not approved for use in humans in any form. One of the main uses of carfentanil is to act as an elephant tranquilizing drug. Carfentanil, on the other hand, is a tranquilizer for large animals, and even a tiny dose is strong enough to sedate an elephant or immobilize bison, moose, or elk.

  1. Law enforcement and emergency responders have warned that illicitly produced and sold carfentanil looks similar to other drugs found on the street such as cocaine and heroin, due to its white, odorless appearance.
  2. In other words, carfentanil is a whopping 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.
  3. But carfentanil is just one part of the far bigger issue of painkiller use and abuse.
  4. Environmental XPRT is a global environmental industry marketplace and information resource.

Treatment

Only two milligrams of the stuff is needed to knock out a 2,000-pound African elephant, and even in these giants, carfentanil overdoses have been known to trigger heart attacks and internal bleeding. A year ago, drug enforcement agents across the United States were just beginning to test the word “fentanyl” on their tongues. Today, it’s part of common parlance, largely because the super-opioid was blamed for the death of rock legend Prince.

Reportedly, 125 died at the time due to a combination of the effects of the aerosol and a lack of medical care. Compounds containing carfentanil can come in powders, tablets, spray or blotter paper. Officers and medical technicians are being warned to use extreme caution when carfentanil use is suspected.

The differences between fentanyl and carfentanil for one, is the potency of both. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that fentanyl is similar to morphine but is about 50 to 100 times stronger than that of morphine. Whereas carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine.

Its use has spread, thanks to users’ who constantly seek more powerful drugs to get high. Carfentanil detox is the first step on the road to recovery, since treatment is unlikely to be effective if you are still under the influence of opioid drugs. Cartenafil withdrawal can occur during the detox period, but medications will help with symptoms while the drug leaves your body.

Fentanyl, the opioid painkiller that killed Prince and is 50 times stronger than morphine, pales in comparison to a new drug called carfentanil. Carfentanil produces an Intense high, but it also depresses breathing and slows the heart to dangerous levels within moments. If you think a person is overdosing, call 911 immediately, then perform CPR until emergency responders arrive.