Program Coordinator, Youth Leadership
The Governor's Prevention Partnership
Fentanyl made headlines once again last week when it was
announced that it was an unintentional overdose of the power painkiller that
killed Prince. This story was a little
different in that in Prince’s case, it was fentanyl alone that caused his
death, rather than the more common situation of heroin laced with
fentanyl.
Fentanyl is an extremely strong synthetic opioid that is
used to treat high levels of pain, effecting the brain and body like other
prescription painkillers. It is stronger
than morphine and heroin and can cause dangerous side effects if taken without
instruction or if mixed with other substances.
In Connecticut, fentanyl has made an appearance in an increasing number
of drug overdoses in the last 3 years.
As in Prince’s case, it has caused overdoses all on its own in our
state. In 2015, there were 31 accidental drug intoxication deaths from fentanyl
as a standalone drug. This number has almost tripled since 2014 with 12
fentanyl overdoses that year and has increased 5 fold with 6 overdoses in
2013.
The use of fentanyl and other opioids, continue to rise in
Connecticut. When opioids are misused, these medications can be harmful and can
possibility lead to addiction and other illegal drug use. Using prescription
medications when they are not prescribed to you is just as dangerous as using
an illegal drug.
View
our Opioid Fact Sheet and continue to communicate with the youth in your
life. Kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50% less
likely to use drugs.
View additional resources to speak with youth about the dangers of substance abuse.
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