Variations of fentanyl

December 21, 2022

Myths regarding Fentanyl have been circulating the internet ever since Fentanyl deaths started to dramatically increase. One of the more popular myths being spread is the idea of casual exposure by touching something that has Fentanyl on it.

Data was compiled from the CDC over the course of 2022. (Hattie Conover)

“You are not going to get significant exposure through your skin or inhaling it just because it’s in the environment. You actually have to use the drug to get significant exposure,” Dr. Josh Radke said.

Rainbow fentanyl and other synthetic opioids have been introduced into the drug market. Specifically, rainbow fentanyl has been speculated to be targeted at younger audiences not necessarily children but young adults, this claim has been proved for the majority, false.

“I would say it is a myth that drug dealers are marketing toward teenagers who probably don’t have a lot of disposable income for drugs, there have been different colored pills for a long time, pharmaceutical and illicit, this is not something new that will be used to attract teenagers,” Dr. Josh Radke said.

There is also a new drug under the category of a synthetic opioid called protonitazene. This drug does not have any pharmaceutical use which makes it increasingly dangerous and more likely to be a fatal substance. Statistics on these variations of fentanyl are uncommon due to technological barriers.

“Unless someone knows and tells us specifically that they have been using a variation of fentanyl, we are unable to know if they are using it because we can not test for it,” Kayla Borja Frost said.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Little Hawk
$1775
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Iowa City High School. For 2023, we are trying to update our video and photo studio, purchase new cameras and attend journalism conferences.

The Little Hawk • Copyright 2024 • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNOLog in

Donate to The Little Hawk
$1775
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Little Hawk Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *