fentanyl
What is fentanyl?
What are the effects of fentanyl on the body?
Why is fentanyl considered dangerous?
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fentanyl, synthetic narcotic analgesic (pain-relieving) drug, one of the most potent narcotics in clinical use and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The citrate salt, fentanyl citrate, is administered by injection, either intramuscularly or intravenously, sometimes in combination with a potent tranquilizer. The duration of its analgesic action is short.
- Also called:
- N-(1-phenethyl-4-piperidyl)propionanilide
Fentanyl exerts its effects by acting on opioid receptors that occur naturally in the body. These receptors shape the neural networks responsible for analgesia and pleasure and engage the brain’s reward pathway, which becomes increasingly reinforced through ongoing opioid exposure, fostering addiction. Hence, fentanyl, similar to other narcotic drugs, carries a high risk of addiction. In addition, because of its extreme potency, even a small amount can result in overdose. Many overdoses occur accidentally, as fentanyl is inexpensive to produce and is often added to other illicit drugs without the user’s knowledge. In the second decade of the 21st century in the United States, fentanyl was one of the deadliest drugs of abuse.