Killer drug

[supergee]

The American media love to panic over drugs. Being somewhat old, I have lost count of the number of substances that are reported to give superhuman strength to their users. Fentanyl is a really nasty drug, like heroin only stronger (and, like Oxycontin, produced by corporate rather than officially criminal users), and the media have risen to the occasion by making it sound even worse. No, touching it won’t kill you. [Reason; CW: libertarian cooties]

Thanx to RAW Illumination.

Comments

[autopope]

Actually, it only takes single-digit milligrams of fentanyl—ingested—to cause unconsciousness; the stuff has an ED50 about two orders of magnitude lower than diamorphine (heroin).

Worse. there's a relatively simple derivative, carfentanyl, that is roughly a thousand times as strong as heroin. An effective dose is measured in double-digit micrograms, and it has been used as an inhalation nerve agent (during the Moscow theatre siege)—aerosolized it's effectively a chemical weapon.

There are strong rumours that Chinese chemical plants are churning out carfentanyl to order as an alternative to fentanyl; if you can import a gram of it and dilute it down then precipitate out with a carrier like, say, lactose, you can sell it as kilogram of heroin-equivalent street drug.

Which is probably where the "so strong touching it can kill you" rumour comes from. Touch some of the powder, and it's quite likely there'll be enough residue on your fingertips even after wiping them clean that if you unthinkingly touch your mucous membranes you'll pick up a working dose.

[supergee]

Fascinating. Thanks for the info