Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, a substance which the British newspaper The Guardian described as “50 times more powerful than heroin”. It was an accidental overdose of Fentanyl that caused the death of the legendary musical star Prince in April this year. Here is an article in The Scientific American which explains why the painkiller Fentanyl can be “especially dangerous”.
Fentanyl is not on the Philippine list of banned drugs, but it is a dangerous legal prescription drug that can give a high and also be abused. You can read more about Fentanyl abuse here.
The drug Fentanyl has a number of side effects. The Mayo Clinic listed them:
More common
Decrease in the amount of urine or in the frequency of urination
hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there)
Less common
Chest pain
difficulty with speaking
fainting
mood or mental changes
Problems with walking
redness, swelling, itching, or bumps on the skin at the place of application
spitting blood
Forbes magazine’s website said Prince was using Fentanyl for pain management: “Prince had been known to suffer severe hip pain due to decades of energetic performances. He may have become physically dependent on opioids after long-term use of legitimately prescribed opioids.”