Fentanyl overtakes heroin as deadliest drug in America

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) – It was recently announced that Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has overtaken Heroin as the deadliest drug in America. 

Numbers from 2016 show that Fentanyl was responsible for nearly 20,000 deaths. From 2012 to 2015 Heroin had been the leading cause of overdose-related death. 

But Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the CDC.

It’s one of the reasons that Portneuf Medical Center’s Dr. John Conner said most of the Fentanyl patients they see never make it to the emergency room. 

“It just is much more potent,” Conner explained. “So a smaller quantity…would be a 5,000 times overdose.” 

The drug impacts the body in the same way as other narcotics. “It shuts down your respiration, makes you unconscious, lowers your blood pressure,” Conner said. 

The impacts on your breathing are what Conner attributes with the mortality rates.

“Your breathing slows to nothing and there’s no one around you so there’s no one to breathe for you,” he explained. 

But luckily there is a way to save those overdosing on the drug. 

Naloxone also known as Narcan, has been identified as a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses. Available as an injection or nasal spray, it can be purchased in many drug stores and is frequently carried by police officers. 

Conner says that while the Naloxone may show near immediate signs of working, it is still very important to keep an eye on the person it was administered on. 

“You should watch them for a period of time afterwards to make sure they wake up and smell the coffee,” Conner said. “And keep smelling the coffee.”