Wake up! Fentanyl is a potent killer

30 May 2017 - 09:27 By © The Daily Telegraph
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Morgan Gilman, a 21-year-old hotel cleaner, was driving through the US state of New Hampshire when she overdosed on fentanyl, a killer drug 100 times more powerful than heroin.

"The dealer told me it was stronger than usual but I didn't care," she said. "I took it in at McDonald's bathroom and tried to drive home. I couldn't keep me eyes open and the car rolled four times.

"When I woke up, I was handcuffed to a hospital bed and my back was broken."

A "goody two shoes" at school, Gilman's slide into fentanyl addiction is a common story in Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city.

It began when a boyfriend gave her the prescription drug Percocet. That led to heroin and ultimately fentanyl, a hugely potent painkiller often used to treat cancer patients that was linked to the death of pop star Prince last year.

Gilman's best friend later died from an overdose and she was in its grip for six months.

"I became a zombie," she said. "My advice to anyone is just don't ever start. I had everything I wanted - a job, car, boyfriend, dog, then nothing. I threw it away."

Last year, more than 52,000 Americans died of drug overdoses and the majority were from opioids like heroin and its synthetic cousin fentanyl. The figure was far higher than for gun deaths or car crash fatalities.

In Manchester, a giant billboard says that 73% of the state's overdoses were due to fentanyl and urges users to "Wake Up".

Bill Goodman, New Hampshire's chief medical officer, said the epidemic can be traced to America's prescription practices, which have seen a quadrupling in opioid prescriptions over the last 15 years. Around three quarters of the world's prescription opioids are now consumed in the US.

"Its totally insane," he said. "And you can't arrest your way out of this. It cuts across all strata."

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