There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly-manufactures fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat patients with acute pain, typically post-surgery or in advanced stages of cancer. Illicitly-manufactured fentanyl is linked to recent lethal and non-lethal overdoses. Fentanyl is added to other drugs because it is so potent, making drugs cheaper, more addictive, and more dangerous. Dealers often dilute batches of their product and add a bit of fentanyl so the user still gets high. This has contributed to the current overdose epidemic because of fentanyl’s small lethal dose, a lack of specific measuring when dealers add fentanyl to their substances, and the “clumping” of fentanyl within a drug (one...

There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly-manufactures fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat patients with acute pain, typically post-surgery or in advanced stages of cancer. Illicitly-manufactured fentanyl is linked to recent lethal and non-lethal overdoses. Fentanyl is added to other drugs because it is so potent, making drugs cheaper, more addictive, and more dangerous. Dealers often dilute batches of their product and add a bit of fentanyl so the user still gets high. This has contributed to the current overdose epidemic because of fentanyl’s small lethal dose, a lack of specific measuring when dealers add fentanyl to their substances, and the “clumping” of fentanyl within a drug (one half of a “fentapill” could be deadly, while the other could be safe").