What is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used as a pain medication and together with other medications for anesthesia. Medically, fentanyl is administered by injection, as a patch on the skin, as a nasal spray, or orally.

Fentanyl is also made illegally and used as a recreational drug, often mixed with heroin or cocaine.

If you suspect you or someone you love has a substance use disorder, we want to help. To speak confidentially with a certified counselor, please call us at (888) 837-6577.

Here’s what you need to know—

• Fentanyl is about 100 times more powerful than morphine
• It is between 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin
• Drug pushers often mix fentanyl with heroin or cocaine without buyers’ knowledge, which only increases their potency and danger, often resulting in lethal consequences
• Illegal fentanyl is often designed to look like other pharmaceutical medications such as Xanax and OxyContin
• Fentanyl is a killer.

High-profile examples

Fentanyl is the strongest opioid approved for medical use in the United States, the go-to drug to dull the crippling, otherwise-untouchable pain experienced by many patients with advanced forms of cancer.

With a narcotic so powerful, abuse and illegal trafficking were bound to follow.

In April 2016, popular musician Prince died from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Fentanyl was among many counterfeit pills discovered in his home at the time of his death. Prince was reportedly “aggressively self-medicating severe physical pain.”

In November 2017, 21-year-old rap artist Lil Peep died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. Toxicology reports revealed “a cocktail of drugs” were found in his system at the time of his death. In a 2017 interview with webzine Pitchfork, Lil Peep said he battled depression but refused to take medication for it, preferring “to smoke weed and take whatever other drugs come my way.”

In January 2018, the medical examiner in Los Angeles announced rock musician Tom Petty died from an accidental drug overdose as a result of mixing medications that included fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl. He was reportedly treating many serious ailments that included a broken hip.

These high-profile celebrity deaths raise the profile of one of the most dangerous but little-known drugs fueling opioid deaths.

How Serious is the Problem?

Fentanyl is a driving force behind a sweeping drug epidemic, which claimed 47,000 deaths in 2014, according to the most recent estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The fact is, fentanyl is an equal opportunity killer. It affects the wealthy, the poor, the prominent and the obscure.

Get Help Now!

Having a basic understanding of fentanyl and its risks is a great start. But it is especially important to realize substance abuse doesn’t just occur in a vacuum. Often the abuse begins as an attempt to self-medicate a deeper hurt. For real healing and recovery, the underlying causes of your substance abuse must be addressed. And this is vitally important when you’re choosing a treatment program or facility.

To get at this underlying hurt and bring lasting healing takes a holistic—spirit, mind and body—approach to addiction diagnosis, management and treatment.

Many programs focus narrowly on what can be addressed from a medical perspective. Research, however, continues to show us that spirituality positively influences recovery in many ways. Although this is well known, and medical and behavioral health professionals have been saying addictions are holistic illnesses that need holistic treatment, the majority of programs still refuse to look to God in the healing process.

Different from many other treatment facilities, Honey Lake Clinic offers a residential, holistic program which treats each client on three different levels:
Spiritual: Helping you grow closer to God, apply His truths, and discern His will for you.
Psychological: Teaching decision-making skills to help you cope with underlying struggles.
Physical: Using therapy and medication, if needed, to re-circuit or renew your mind.

At Honey Lake Clinic, our experienced doctors and staff will help you or your loved one bring spiritual power and clearer psychological understanding to recovery.