Fentanyl is a deadly, undetectable opioid making its way into street drugs

What does fentanyl look like?

Illicitly manufactured powdered fentanyl looks just like many other drugs. It is commonly mixed with drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, or made into pills that resemble other prescription opioids. In its liquid form, illicitly manufactured fentanyl can be found in nasal sprays and eye drops, and it can be dropped onto paper or small candies.

What does it feel like to use fentanyl?

Fentanyl produces effects such as relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, pupillary constriction, and respiratory depression (you could stop breathing).

Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. DEA analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet.

How does fentanyl get into the drug I want to use?

Fentanyl is often added to other drugs to make them cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, most of the illicit supply comes from outside the United States, where clandestine laboratories synthesize fentanyl into counterfeit pills. These fake pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions, such as Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax®, and other medicines. Fentanyl powder is also being added to other street drugs to increase their potency. You can’t tell if fentanyl is in the drug you are about to use. The only way to be sure is to test street drugs for fentanyl.