Is Fentanyl Most Addictive Drug?

Fentanyl is certainly one of the most potent and addictive opioid drugs available. Because different people are susceptible to different drug addictions, it’s hard to qualify which drug is the most addictive, but Fentanyl is more potent than morphine and possibly more addictive than crack cocaine.

Like other narcotics, it interferes with the body’s natural ability to respond to pleasure sensations. The drug works to block opiate receptors in the brain, causing the brain to produce extra dopamine, which is the natural chemical that creates the feeling of pleasure. If this happens too many times, and too frequently, the brain and the body can develop a dependency on the drug, both physically and psychologically. This is because the person is then unable to feel pleasure from natural, everyday stimulants like the common activities they usually found enjoyable. They now have to turn to Fentanyl, or other narcotics, to achieve high enough dopamine levels to feel pleasure.

One of the problems with Fentanyl use is that it creates a short but extreme high. The user won’t experience the high for a very long time, meaning they will want it again very soon. Also, as tolerance builds, they will need increasingly higher doses to achieve a sufficient high. This makes the drug highly dangerous because, as the user adjusts their dosage based on their tolerance, they may accidentally ingest too much.

Unlike many street drugs, Fentanyl is a prescribed substance in extreme cases of pain, such as cancer treatment and surgery. It is often a last resort for doctors to prescribe, as it is so potent and so highly addictive. Generally, it is only prescribed when the patient no longer responds to more common pain relievers. In rare cases when morphine is not effective enough, or if the patient is sustaining chronic pain due to illness or injury, Fentanyl is administered.

This particular drug is becoming more popular on the streets, as drugs like Oxycontin are becoming harder to come by. Since there are so many different forms of Fentanyl, it is on its way to being one of the more accessible narcotics.

Fentanyl can be administered in a variety of ways. It comes in a patch form, where the drug is absorbed through the skin, in a lollipop or lozenge form, in a pill form, and in the form of a film that is placed under the tongue to be absorbed. These are some of the more common hospital usages, although in extreme cases, it can also be injected. Fentanyl abusers also chew and smoke it. Since it is such a potent drug, there is a very fine line between a therapeutic dosage and a dangerous one.

Some of the most common symptoms of Fentanyl use include:

• relaxation, drowsiness, lethargy, fatigue, mellowness
• euphoria and intense pleasure
• nausea and vomiting
• coma
• sedation
• confusion
• dizzy and light-headed feeling
• sweating and shaking
• swelling
• hallucinations and nightmares, even trouble sleeping
• dry mouth and urine retention
• itchiness and possible hives
• loss of appetite and weight loss
• respiratory arrest
• depression on come-down

Some of the symptoms of relaxation may be more extreme in new users. The drug causes the whole body to relax, which is what can lead to coma, sedation, and even respiratory arrest, since all of the body’s muscles and functions slow down. Despite the unwanted symptoms, such as vomiting and dizziness, Fentanyl abusers crave the high.