Pills that kill: why are thousands dying from fentanyl abuse?

Fentanyl is a painkiller that is 50 times stronger than heroin. It has already killed thousands
The Observer (UK)
Sunday, December 11, 2016

fentanyl-epidemicFentanyl is the latest and most disturbing twist in the epidemic of opioid addiction that has crept across the United States over the past two decades, claiming close to 200,000 lives. Fentanyl is a painkiller that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Prince, like almost all fentanyl’s victims, probably never even knew he was taking the drug. The ingredients for fentanyl are openly available in China and easily imported ready for manufacture. In September, the DEA issued a warning about the rise of a fentanyl variant that is 100 times more powerful – carfentanil, a drug used to tranquilise elephants. (See also: The fentanyl crisis is so deadly in Canada that even funeral directors need the antidote)