The alert is a very serious one. Fentanyl was found for the first time in a dose of heroin in Perugia. It is a very powerful opioid, which in a very short time has become the main cause of death in the United States, where a real social emergency is underway following the use of drugs laced with Fentayl. The news is reported by Courier of Umbria.
Fentanyl in Perugia The alert was raised in Umbria by the Street Unit of the Borgorete cooperative, founded over 25 years ago and now to all intents and purposes a service of the Serd of Local Health Authority 1 in the Perugia area. In particular, the alert for the presence of Fentanyl in Perugia was triggered following the report of “a person who knows the service well” and who delivered the suspected dose. Initially, the substance was tested at the Low Threshold Center (CABS) and then sent to the Forensic Medicine, Forensic and Sports Sciences laboratory.
At 5 percent in a dose of heroin The outcome of the checks confirmed the presence of Fentanyl in the amount of 5 percent, in a mix of substances composed of heroin (50 percent), codeine (30 percent) and diazepam (15 percent). In the alert, the street unit of the Serd of Perugia recalls what perhaps too few in Europe still know, namely that «Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that belongs to the same family as morphine and heroin, but is much more powerful: 100 times more potent than morphine, 50 times more potent than heroin.” Hence the alert and above all the warning “to all people who use substances to be very careful”. Anyone who needs it can contact the Street Unit on 3299040696 and 800 214 533, or by passing through the Cabs or the Mobile Unit.
Yellow powder The Central Anti-Drug Directorate of the State Police explains that «Fentanyl can present itself in an illegal format as an impalpable yellow powder, called in jargon “White Persian” (containing 3-methylfentanyl) or sometimes as “paper strips” (thin pieces of cardboard impregnated with Fentanyl)”, while “2 mg of Fentanyl can be lethal in humans”. In the United States, where the substance is widespread, young students have lost their lives with a dose of cocaine laced with Fentanyl.
2 mg is enough to die The Italian Drug Enforcement Agency notes that «in Europe and the United States, a significant number of deaths have been recorded following the ingestion of illicitly synthesized or “created” fentanyls, sometimes called non-pharmaceutical fentanyls. Regarding non-pharmaceutical fentanyls, many deaths – characterized by their suddenness – have been linked to the use of heroin combined with Fentanyl or one of its various potent analogues, such as alpha-methyl fentanyl and 3-methylfentanyl».
