What Is The Deal With Fentanyl Addiction In California?

Fentanyl is a very powerful drug. What is does, is to stimulate the Opiate Receptors in a person’s brain. We humans have what is called the Opiate Receptor System, which involves the pleasure centers of the brain. Normally, we have Endogenous Opiates called Endorphines. Endorphines are neurotransmitters or chemical messengers within the central nervous system that provide the pleasurable feelings we get from all of life’s various bounties. We all know that fun things are fun, and that’s because of Endorphines in the brain. Endorphines are also our body’s natural painkillers.

Opiate drugs, also known as Opioids, bypass the normal Endorphine system and go and stimulate the pleasure centers directly. This action also provides Analgesia, or reduced pain. Normally, the Endorphines are carefully regulated by the brain, so there is never too much, like having an overdose on Endorphines which is just not a thing. But taking too high an amount of Opiates, in the form of Fentanyl, can cause a person to quit breathing. The heart stops a short time after a person stops breaching. The person who takes too high a dose of Opiates usually just seems to drift off and go to sleep and never wake up.

Morphine is an Opiate drug, that is usually used as a standard when comparing various Opiate medications. An average dose of Morphine given for severe pain for an adult is five to ten milligrams. A person who is naïve to Opiates will stop breathing after taking ten times the usual dose, or 100 milligrams. Heroin is about twice as potent as Morphine. However, Fentanyl is extremely potent and is 100 times more potent, or stronger than Morphine. Accordingly, a dose of just one single milligram can be lethal.

The drug cartels have figured out that a much smaller amount goes a long way. In this case, a smaller amount of Fentanyl can be converted into many more doses for folks, thus increasing profits. But just like all other Opiates, Fentanyl is habit forming. The more you take, the more you build up a tolerance, so you need a higher dose. After about a month or so, you feel sick with withdrawal symptoms if you don’t have it. At that point is when you’ve developed an Addiction, now called: Opiate Use Disorder.

If you or someone you know has a problem with Fentanyl, or any other Opiate and are interested in learning about Medication Assisted Treatment in California, check out: www.AddictionTeleMD.com