ieExplains: What is fentanyl and is it a problem in Ireland?
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Both the Government and the gardaí have sounded the alarm about the potential for the fentanyl crisis rocking both the US and Britain to make it to these shores.
Here, we take a look at the key bits of information you need to know about fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a strong opioid painkiller, which is around 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and heroin.
It’s primary use is in pain management for cancer patients or those recovering from painful surgery or serious injuries.
The United States is currently in the middle of a fentanyl crisis, with one person dying of a fentanyl overdose every three hours in New York.
This is a result of people using fentanyl when they are not in pain.
Earlier this year, actor Angus Cloud of 'Euphoria’ fame died from an accidental drug overdose which included fentanyl.
Some 75,000 drug overdose deaths were associated with fentanyl in the US in 2022 alone, including 6,000 in California, with about one in every 25 of those deaths being a child of 19 or younger.
Certain states, including California, are putting aside billions of dollars to deal with the issue.
Tactics put forward include offering fentanyl test strips at medical centres. These strips can find fentanyl in any form of drug: powder, liquid or solid drugs.
On December 4, 2023, US president Joe Biden announced a "Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force" to try and shut down the networks providing the illegal opiods.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said that it would use "every tool at its disposal to disrupt the ability of drug traffickers to peddle this poison in our country”.
The move comes after Mr Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed a deal to curb fentanyl production in larger companies.
Gardaí have issued a warning about fentanyl in recent weeks by confirming that criminal networks are now examining ways of bringing the drug to the Irish market.
This warning was echoed by the Taoiseach.
The first suggested search when you type ‘fentanyl’ into google is ‘overdose symptoms’. The issue is rapidly growing in the UK – with spikes in fentanyl deaths in 2017, 2019 and 2023, according to the NHS.
Pat Leahy, a former Garda Assistant Commissioner, recently said that fentanyl will ravage Irish communities unless we prepare for it now.