Fentanyl: The Deadliest Opioid

Gr 9 Up—Fentanyl is the ultimate Pandora's Box, impossible to detect in a dose of heroin and 30 times more fatal. It's cheaper to manufacture, so dealers have a strong incentive to add it when packaging doses for street sales. In combination with heroin, fetanyl is responsible for most fatal overdoses in the U.S., and the number continues to rise despite public concern. Most who are troubled by the epidemic are at a loss as to how to stop it. This production addresses the biochemical aspects of how fentanyl works on the brain and how it affects users who are trying to detox. None of the symptoms (cramping, vomiting, severe itching and shaking) are something most would ever want to experience. The young woman who narrates the film talks about how users continue trying to replicate the initial high, a phenomenon called "chasing the dragon." Sadly, few ever find it again. She also points out how toxic fentanyl is. Law enforcement often resorts to using Hazmat suits when at risk of exposure. Multiple doses of Narcan are often necessary because the drug is so powerful. Users often die before being able to remove a needle. A closing statement vividly sums it up. When filming, the producers tried to find recovering addicts to participate, but all they encountered were grieving survivors.