Why Are Drugs Laced with Fentanyl: The Major Reasons and Causes

It is always dangerous to abuse drugs, but the dangers are much greater when the drugs are illegal drugs obtained on the street. This is because street drugs are often not pure. Instead, they may be combined with any number of legal and illegal substances to achieve any number of effects. When a drug is mixed with another substance without the user knowing, that drug is said to be laced with that substance. In America today, the deadliest substance that other drugs are laced with is fentanyl, responsible for tens of thousands of deaths a year.

3 Minute Read | Published Sep 06 2023 | Updated Oct 12 2023

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The Reasons Why Drug Manufacturers Lace Drugs with Fentanyl

If fentanyl is so deadly, why would you lace other drugs with it? There’s a number of reasons, none of which are positive for those suffering from addiction or society at large.

Financial Reasons Why Drugs Are Laced with Fentanyl

Fentanyl is incredibly potent. That means that even a very small amount of fentanyl can cause a tremendous number of users to experience an intense high. This makes it cheaper to ship fentanyl, and it also makes it easier to conceal it while being trafficked. This increases the profit margins for drug trafficking organizations and reduces their risk. Fentanyl was initially mixed into other drugs for these reasons, and they continue to be major drivers of fentanyl lacing.

User Demand Reasons for Lacing Drugs with Fentanyl

However, the primary reason that other drugs are now laced with fentanyl is user demand. Many drug users prefer fentanyl to other drugs because it is so potent, and they actively seek it out. It is the substance of choice for many users, and that number of users is growing everyday.

But why would drug users prefer a drug that is known to be so deadly? You have to remember that an addiction sufferer’s thoughts and judgment are clouded by their disease. Where a non-addiction sufferer might hear about a fatal overdose and think, “I would never want to risk that,” an addiction sufferer might think, “that must be strong stuff, a better high. I have to try it.”

Tragically, once many users try fentanyl, they quickly develop a dependence, which may lead to addiction. Fentanyl addictions can be incredibly destructive to an individual’s life and are frequently fatal.

Why Are Drugs Laced with Fentanyl Deadly?

Why are drugs laced with fentanyl more deadly than drugs laced with other substances? Because fentanyl is more deadly than other drugs. Fentanyl is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin, which means that a fatal dose of fentanyl is 2% the size of a fatal dose of heroin.

Fentanyl is especially deadly when users don’t know their drugs are mixed with it. Because such a small dose of fentanyl is fatal, victims frequently die after taking what would be a non-lethal dose of the drug they thought they were taking.

Fentanyl kills primarily by slowing down the body’s functions so much that they no longer function, typically the respiratory system first.

How Do I Avoid Taking Drugs Laced with Fentanyl?

Tragically, lacing drugs with fentanyl is extremely common. In many areas, most, and sometimes all, of the supply of some drugs is laced with some amount of fentanyl. The only way to avoid taking drugs laced with fentanyl is to completely avoid taking illegal drugs altogether. Every time that you take an illegal drug, you are rolling the dice with your life.

Find Treatment for Fentanyl Addiction

There is help if you or someone you love is having trouble stopping drug use. Fentanyl use disorders and other addictions are treatable, and millions of Americans live happily and proudly in recovery.

Please use the free resources offered by the team at Better Addiction Care to get started. Get in touch with our team at 1-800-429-7690 to learn more about what we offer and how it can help make dependence a thing of the past.