Fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that a medical examiner
identified as the drug that killed the superstar Prince six weeks ago, has been
responsible for an epidemic of overdose deaths around the United States,
according to federal officials. The most potent narcotic known, it is a man-made opioid 50
times stronger than heroin and 100 times more so than morphine, according to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control website. The agency says illegally
manufactured non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, and related overdoses, are a rising
problem.
Fifty-seven-year-old Prince, one of the most influential
musicians of his generation, was found dead in his home in a Minneapolis suburb
on April 21. He died of an accidental, self-administered overdose of the drug, the
county medical examiner said in a death report Thursday.
Overdose deaths from synthetic opioids jumped by 80 percent
in 2014 over the previous year, the CDC said, suggesting much of the increase may
reflect the greater availability of illegally made fentanyl. In Ohio, fentanyl
overdoses jumped to 514 in 2014 from 92 a year earlier, for example.
Federal response
The problem has triggered a federal response. U.S. President
Barack Obama earlier this year asked Congress for $1.1 billion in new funding
over two years to expand treatment for users of heroin and prescription
painkillers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration last year issued a
nationwide alert about the dangers of fentanyl, saying even a tiny amount can
kill. A pain reliever usually used for terminally ill patients, it is also
produced in underground labs for sale as a street drug.
While fentanyl was largely a problem in the Midwest and on
the East Coast in recent years, in April, a rash of fentanyl overdoses hit
northern California, 10 of them fatal. It is not clear whether Prince had a prescription for
fentanyl after a reported hip surgery. And if he was prescribed the drug, it is
not known by what doctor, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday. High risk of overdose
Burt Kahn, a lawyer who specializes in medical negligence,
said there was a potential for criminal liability if a doctor prescribed
fentanyl to Prince, or got him habituated, and then withdrew the drug.
"Fentanyl is a drug that would almost never be
prescribed to a patient like Prince who doesn't have terminal cancer, because
the potential for overdose is extremely high," Kahn said.
He said doctors ordinarily would want to closely monitor the
vital signs of a patient taking fentanyl, to make sure the drug is not slowing
down breathing or heart rate, although it can be administered in patches to
control the dosage. Fentanyl threats have come in waves, the DEA said. There
were more than 1,000 deaths attributed to fentanyl between 2005 and 2007,
mostly in Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia, traced to a single lab in Mexico
that was dismantled.
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