Fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. This addictive drug hit the street in the 90’s as a heroin additive, and has been prevalent ever since then, despite the failed attempts of the government's war on drugs. This issue recently caught my attention after watching Vice’s DopeSick documentary on young fentanyl users and Canada’s opioid problem. After doing some research, I found that Fentanyl is an opioid medication, most commonly prescribed as a pain reliever after a surgical operation. In a medical setting, it is most often injected through an IV but on the street, it is frequently bought in the form of a pressed pill which is usually crushed up, and then snorted when taken.
This April, British Columbia declared a public health emergency after the fentanyl related deaths of nearly 200 people. In the same month, Prince, the famous singer, died of a fentanyl overdose at just 57 years old. Because of these facts, there has been an increased concern surrounding fentanyl and opioids in general, as there should be. However, treating these deaths as an “epidemic” or “emergency” won’t solve the root of the problem. This language makes people feel unsafe and alarmed, which leads to a push for more failed policies. These policies, all which fall under the war on drugs, do not and will not work. Just take a look at how well marijuana prohibition has worked out (or cocaine, LSD, mushrooms, etc.).
Instead of treating it is an epidemic, we need to treat this opioid issue proactively with harm reduction programs such as the expansion and normalization of naloxone paralleled with increased drug education. Opioids are used every day in the professional healthcare settings, and most people who use opioids will not become addicted. Therefore, it isn’t an epidemic, though it still is a problem we need to face.
The issue is, people are going to do drugs. There’s no way to effectively stop this human behavior that has been going on for thousands of years. It isn’t a crisis that people take drugs, or fentanyl in particular. The crisis is that people generally don’t know how to properly dose drugs, or use them safely. The problem is a lack of education surrounding drug use, and this is a direct effect of the war on drugs.
The typical conversations surrounding drug use in an educational setting, such as a high school, fail to inform individuals on how to properly test, dose, and be safe about drugs if individuals choose to use them. Instead, the teaching is an extension of failed policies simply stating to stay away from them, failing to acknowledge that individuals do in fact use drugs safely. This kind of conversation, common in programs such as the D.A.R.E. drug prevention program is thus limited and shortsighted.
Whether drugs are illegal or not, it’s time to realize that people will continue to use drugs. It’s disheartening that it takes the death of a famous star such as Prince, or of hundreds deceased in one city to realize that our current drug policies are failing. All over the world, they are disappointing. Whether fentanyl or heroin, ketamine or cocaine, it is clear there is a need for greater drug education to understand how drugs work, and what to do in case of an overdose. People take drugs and it’s time to stop sticking our nose up to that fact, and start helping enlighten others on safe use principals and overdose prevention methods.
If interested on what you can do to help, further than educating yourself about drugs and the drug war, you can volunteer with a harm reduction program such as Bunk Police, DanceSafe, or become certified to administer naloxone. Naloxone is a prescription medication used for stopping overdose deaths. It is a drug that blocks opioids from attaching to receptors in the brain, and which revives heading-toward-death overdose patients within minutes. It has the potential to save a life. With a quick Google search, it is easy to find where you can receive training and naloxone certification.
