ALERTS AND ACTION

ALERTS AND ACTION

Fentanyl/Carfentanil ALERT

Posted by Sergio Perez on Mar 21, 2017 2:59:28 PM

We have all heard about the devastating opioid epidemic that’s ravaging communities across the U.S., but have you heard about two incredibly powerful synthetic opioids–Fentanyl and Carfentanil–that are thousands of times more powerful than heroin?

  • Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain medication, is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. Carfentanil, typically used as an anesthetic for large animals such as elephants, is 10,000 times more potent than heroin. Both synthetic opioids are incredibly deadly–micrograms of either of these substances are enough to kill. They are so dangerous that police must use special hazard suits to handle them.
  • Carfentanil has become the latest synthetic opioid to affect our communities. The drug originates in Chinese labs that sell to U.S. buyers through the internet, using the U.S. postal service to deliver packages containing the deadly substance. It is then sold on the streets of our communities as a white or brownish powder, often disguised as heroin. Even handling Carfentanil can risk exposure and serious health concerns. Many users believe they’re buying heroin, not realizing that what they’re actually purchasing is much more powerful, and therefore deadly.
  • Over 100 Carfentanil-related overdoses were reported in 2016 in Miami-Dade alone, and many more across the country.

 

The situation is dire–but you can help!

  1. Encourage your child’s schools to schedule presentations by the State Attorney’s Office. Call: (305) 547-0100 to schedule a presentation.
  2. Call your legislators: express your support for House Bill 477 and Senate Bill 150–Sponsored by the Sherriffs Association–to stiffen penalties for drug dealers caught trafficking fentanyl. You can find your Florida House Representative at the Florida House Website, and your Senator at the Florida Senate Website.

 Your support is incredibly necessary. Join us in fighting this deadly epidemic.

Written with support from the Sherriffs Association, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, and State Attorney's Office Head of Narcotics Warren Eth.

Topics: heroin, synthetic drugs, drug abuse, opioids

About Us

We teach people how to say no to drugs and how to make healthy choices. To reduce the demand for drugs, Informed Families has focused its efforts on educating and mobilizing the community, parents and young people in order to change attitudes. In this way we counteract the pressures in society that condone and promote drug and alcohol use and abuse. The organization educates thousands of families annually about how to stay drug and alcohol free through networking and a variety of programs and services .

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