Millennium Health Signals report 5.0 just came out for a Summer 2023 edition and the news is shocking.
Fentanyl use has grown 146% nationwide. The impact on Texas is almost double that. And yet impotent lawmakers tilt at windmills threatening to criminalize Delta 8 and Delta 9 legal CBD hemp products, one of the few good news points in the bad news Fentanyl crisis news cycle.
In 2019 US Census data had Texas and Arkansas at a disturbing 1.6% use rate. Now that number has exploded to a heartbreaking 6.2% and skyrocketing daily!
Houston families like the Fowlers, who's daughter Kate passed in March 2023, would be thrilled if alternatives had kept their daughter safe.
Let's examine the Fentanyl plague, and then we'll get back to how our lawmakers are fighting our friends while our enemy feasts on our children.
Unmasking Fentanyl: A Deep Dive into the Numbers
In the grand theatre of modern health crises, a potent player has taken center stage: Fentanyl. To truly comprehend the significance of this substance, we must listen closely to the story that the numbers tell.
Fentanyl, chemically a synthetic opioid, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. This is not a statistic to be glossed over. Imagine the potential risks when a substance so powerful finds its way into unregulated hands. The data doesn't lie: it's a ticking time bomb with a far-reaching blast radius.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that in 2019, nearly 50% of opioid-related deaths in the U.S. involved fentanyl. A staggering statistic that not only highlights the scale of the issue but also the urgency of addressing it.
When examining the numbers, we find a consistent and alarming upward trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report a 12% increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) from 2018 to 2019. This, unfortunately, was not a one-off occurrence. From 2013 to 2019, the rate of fentanyl overdoses has increased more than tenfold, a trajectory that we can ill afford to ignore.
(Again it's gotten way worse according to Millennium!)
It's not just the users who are at risk. Fentanyl's potency means that even trace amounts can be lethal. Emergency responders, law enforcement personnel, and others who unknowingly come into contact with the drug are also at risk. This raises the stakes significantly, turning an individual health crisis into a public health emergency.
The origins of Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid drug, trace back to 1959 when it was first synthesized by Paul Janssen. With a potency 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, Fentanyl was designed as a powerful tool for pain management, particularly for cancer patients and those recovering from painful surgeries. The drug was approved for medical use in the United States in 1968 and quickly became a significant player in the field of anesthetics, also being used as a sedative.
Globally, in 2015, 1,600 kilograms of Fentanyl were used in healthcare, demonstrating its widespread medical application. By 2017, Fentanyl had become the most widely used synthetic opioid in medicine. In fact, in 2019, it was the 278th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than a million prescriptions. This widespread use in the medical field is a testament to the drug's effectiveness in managing severe pain.
However, Fentanyl's potency and accessibility have also led to its abuse, fueling an epidemic of synthetic opioid drug overdose deaths in the United States. From 2011 to 2021, synthetic opioid deaths increased dramatically, with Fentanyl and its analogues responsible for the majority of these fatalities. The scale of the problem is highlighted by the fact that Fentanyl overtook heroin as the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018.
Adding to the problem, Fentanyl is often mixed with or disguised as other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, or even pharmaceuticals like oxycodone. This not only increases the risk of overdose but also complicates the treatment process, as it becomes more difficult to determine the correct course of action in the event of an overdose. The ease of manufacturing and smuggling Fentanyl has also led to its replacement of other abused narcotics, becoming more widely used and available.
The potency of fentanyl and its manipulation of the brain's opioid receptors are at the heart of its addictiveness. As an opioid, fentanyl binds to receptors in the brain that control pain and emotions. After frequent use, the brain adapts to the drug, decreasing its sensitivity and making it difficult to derive pleasure from anything other than the substance. This alteration in the brain's function results in compulsive drug-seeking behavior, dominating users' lives, even when faced with harmful consequences.
The immediate effects of fentanyl contribute to its allure. Upon ingestion, fentanyl induces a state of extreme happiness, sedation, and drowsiness, among other sensations. However, these euphoric states are coupled with life-threatening risks, including slowed or halted breathing, leading to hypoxia - a condition that can result in coma, permanent brain damage, and death.
Fentanyl's potency is incredibly high - approximately 100 times that of morphine. This intensity makes even small doses lethal, particularly for recreational users, who may unknowingly consume fentanyl mixed with other substances such as cocaine or heroin. Non-pharmaceutical fentanyl (NPF), produced in makeshift labs and often combined with other drugs, presents even more dangers due to its unpredictable potency and composition.
Withdrawal from fentanyl is a harrowing experience, with symptoms such as muscle and bone pain, sleep problems, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes, uncontrollable leg movements, and intense cravings appearing within hours of the last dose. These symptoms are often so uncomfortable that many individuals find it nearly impossible to stop using the drug.
Fentanyl's swift and potent effects also contribute to its deadliness. Unlike other opioids that need time to circulate in the bloodstream before reaching the brain, fentanyl bonds quickly to the brain's receptors, delivering an almost instantaneous high. This rapid onset of effects, coupled with fentanyl's power, makes it an attractive option for users seeking a potent high or those with high tolerances to other opioids. However, the same characteristics that make fentanyl appealing also render it extremely dangerous, causing rapid onset of severe symptoms and often leading to quick fatalities before emergency medical services can intervene.
Here in Texas addiction has skyrocket by 234%. No surprise since it's pouring through our southern boarder like a waterfall.
Axios published this article April 20, 2023 on how somehow Delta 8 is still up for debate by the legislature.
Let's get this straight, Fentanyl is like an army of soldiers hell bent on hurting and killing our children. Then you've got hemp derived CBD, Delta 8 and Delta 9 that's been shown to be effective even at combating opioid addition, and they come after Delta 8 Etc?
Here's the inspirational National Institute of Health study on the stunning value of hemp based products vs opioids: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573080/
Who's pockets are these guys in?
.png)