ABUSERS IGNORANT OF DRUG'S DEADLY RISKS

Lack of knowledge about the painkiller fentanyl is one reason people
are dying from using it, a Detroit doctor said.

The prescription painkiller is extremely strong and when taken at the
wrong dosage can put the user in a coma and shut down the respiratory
system, said Dr. Kirk Mills, doctor of emergency medicine and medical
toxicology at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

ADVERTISEMENT "There isn't anything fentanyl does that is any
different than morphine, codeine or heroin," Mills said. "It just so
happens you don't need very much of fentanyl to create the effect."

More than 130 Metro Detroit drug users have died since September from
heroin laced with fentanyl. While no similar cases have been reported
in the Blue Water Area, police said it's only a matter of time before
it is seen here.

Mills said it is believed drug dealers are making their own form of
fentanyl, since the commercial medication, used mainly to treat
cancer patients, is expensive.

"Drug abuse is a consumer business, so the better the high you are
able to provide as a dealer, the more customers like you and the less
heroin you need to smuggle," Mills said.

The problem, Mills said, comes when drug abusers do not realize
fentanyl is in the heroin, or are not familiar with what it does to the body.

Since the drug is so strong, it is like using 10 to 100 times more
heroin than someone is used to.

"The goal of every heroin addict is to achieve a certain degree of
euphoria and not experience the side effects," Mills said. "But there
is a very narrow range between euphoria and the side effects. If you
throw in fentanyl you're getting much more drug than anticipated."

Since drug users won't be able to tell if fentanyl is in heroin, they
should be aware of the higher dangers involved. Mills cautioned
people who are using fentanyl legally to not tell too many people
they have it because it could be stolen.