FENTANYL - a synthetic opioid being cut into heroin and cocaine

Typical symptoms of a fentanyl overdose include slow and difficult breathing, nausea and vomiting, dizziness and increased blood pressure..... leading to death in some cases.

According to the U.S. CDC:

“Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.

There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer.”

Typical symptoms of a fentanyl overdose include slow and difficult breathing, nausea and vomiting, dizziness and increased blood pressure. Extreme overdosing can cause amputations or death.

Most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.

VICE correspondent, Luis Chaparro wrote from CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Dec 2022:

Fentanyl seizures and use in Mexico are up by six times what was reported only two years ago, according to new government data. In particular, Mexico’s border cities have seen a spike in the presence of fentanyl as drug cartels continue to ship massive quantities of the synthetic opioid to the U.S.

Border cities like Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juarez and Nogales saw a 635 percent rise in fentanyl seizures during 2021, compared with the previous year, according to figures from the Mexico’s Defense Ministry. 

In 2019, the authorities recovered 136 kilos of fentanyl, and in 2020 that rose to 418. During 2022, the amount of fentanyl seized skyrocketed to 864 kilos. 

Most of the seizures were reported in three states: Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora. Sinaloa isn’t a border state, but the base of the Sinaloa Cartel and where most of the drug is manufactured, according to news reports.  

The amount of fentanyl seized in Mexico could seem small when compared to other drugs like cocaine or heroin, but the strength of the synthetic opioid allows criminal organizations to maximize profits even with low quantities of the substance. 

The use of fentanyl amongst Mexican users is also up dramatically year on year. In 2019 only 25 people were treated for fentanyl overdoses across Mexico, and in 2020 that number rose to 72. Last year, the number reached 184, a rise of 636 per cent year on year. Most overdoses occurred in states of Sonora (91 cases), Baja California (6), and Sinaloa (18). 

Fentanyl is the most recent business boom drug for the Mexican cartels, which have embraced its production and trafficking in response to the demand for opioids in the U.S. It’s a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, according to US authorities. 

Since early 2018, the heroin market in Mexican border cities has been switching from “Black Tar,” a chewy brownish paste, to “China White,” a white powder that looks similar to cocaine. China White allows dealers to mix fentanyl into heroin, which in turn has been contributing to more overdoses in the border cities.

In Tijuana alone, 60 to 70% of the total heroin tested during a seven month period was laced with fentanyl, according to an investigation last year by the harm reduction centers Verter and PrevenCasa. 

Seizures of fentanyl on the U.S. side of the border have also risen in recent years, and last year more than doubled compared to 2020.

Yesterday (16th February 2023) Luis Chaparro wrote:

Mexico Just Seized the ‘Biggest’ Fentanyl Lab in History

The Mexican government just seized what it claims is the biggest fentanyl pills manufacturing lab in history on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa. The laboratory, found on Feb.14, was most likely operated by the Sinaloa Cartel.

The drugs seized were enough to make more than 130 million doses of fentanyl. Some 600,300 pressed fentanyl pills were also discovered, according to the authorities. Around 500kg of precursors to produce heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine, along with a pill pressing machine, were found. 

“This is no longer what we knew before—the small kitchens. This laboratory had a value of over 1,500 million pesos [around $80 million],” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said during his regular morning press conference on Feb.15.

“This is the biggest capacity laboratory in history, given the quantity of precursors found at the site,” the Mexican military commented in a press release. 

The bust was made in the town of Pueblos Unidos, a few miles south of the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa’s capital and cradle of the eponymous cartel.

 Whether it is the largest seizure in history, as the authorities claim, is debatable.
Last year, government forces seized a warehouse containing a declared $200 million dollars worth of synthetic drugs, also in Sinaloa.

The administration of President López Obrador is under increasing pressure from the U.S to crack down on fentanyl production in Mexico. 

“We believe Mexico needs to do more to stop the harm that we’re seeing.” said the U.S’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) director Anne Milgram during a U.S Senate hearing this week. 

“The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels pose the greatest criminal drug threat the United States has ever faced. These ruthless, violent, criminal organizations have associates, facilitators, and brokers in all 50 states in the United States,” she added.

Fentanyl is the most recent business boom for the Mexican cartels, which have embraced the production and trafficking of the deadly opioid in response to demand in the U.S. It’s some 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, according to US authorities, and an important source of new profits. 

Mexico’s authorities didn’t disclose details about who the laboratory belonged to and made no arrests during the bust. The Sinaloa Cartel, particularly the factions controlled by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons, known as ‘Los Chapitos” [Little Chapos], and that run by Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, are known to be major controllers of drug production in the state and surrounding areas.

Overdoses in the U.S. surpassed 100,000 during 2022, according to figures from the DEA, more than two thirds of them due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. 

During the same morning press conference, Mexico’s president also announced a new intention to share the number of overdoses registered in Mexico every two weeks, in an attempt to bring awareness to a spike in drug overdoses deaths. 

Fentanyl use has been slowly growing in Mexico, particularly in border cities like Tijuana and Mexicali. The trend has led to a spike in overdoses, according to official figures and harm reduction NGOs.

“The goal of this biweekly count is to know where we are seeing more overdoses and put special attention there,” President López Obrador said. 

Currently, Mexico has a database of drug overdose deaths that is updated annually, but the data is backlogged for over three years and only runs up until 2019. Last year fentanyl seizures at the United States-Mexico border more than doubled compared to 2020.

Back in 2018 the BBC reported on Fentanyl claiming that most of the drugs enter the U.S. via the mail. They also reported in 2020 that Fentanyl was appearing, mixed into street drugs, in the U.K. but they did not speculate on how it was entering the country.

Now the reports are becoming really alarming, as can be seen from this article in the British Daily Express.

Dealers are using Xylazine, which is uncontrolled by the federal government and cheap, to cut fentanyl, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin.

In addition to enhancing the high from fentanyl, it literally rots people’s skin.

Raw wounds erupt into a scaly crust of dead tissue called eschar which, if untreated, can lead to amputation.

This week the Daily Mail produced an article in which they report:

Britain faces being gripped by its own fentanyl epidemic, according to experts who fear that the devastating zombie-esque scenes plaguing U.S. cities are coming soon to a high street near you.

E.U. drug enforcement chiefs believe that Mexican cartels are seeking to expand their billion-dollar empire beyond American shores, putting Europe's untapped market in their crosshairs.

Although similar fentanyl warnings in the past have never come to fruition in the U.K., concerns are now ramping up.

Dealers are already mixing the drug, 100 times stronger than heroin, into batches of cocaine sold on British streets, addiction experts told MailOnline.

Millions of Brits use cocaine, with the country estimated to snort about 117 tonnes of it every year. Users describe it as being easier to get than a pizza, with dealers taking less than 30 minutes to deliver it. Analysts have warned that use is spiralling 'out of control' among the middle classes — becoming the 'norm' at dinner parties. 

Over time, its street value has also dropped, putting it within financial reach of more people. This has made it easier to get hooked on cocaine, form a damaging addiction and purchase enough to cause an accidental overdose.

Therefore, if dealers start cutting fentanyl into the product the results could be catastrophic as Brits could unknowingly consume the powerful opioid, risking addiction, or even a fatal overdose.

I don’t need to say how concerning this is, do I?

If you know anyone who uses cocaine or heroin, please warn them of the risk that their regular dose could be contaminated with Fentanyl or Xylazine and develop into an amputation or even an overdose. Encourage them to consult a herbalist for detox assistance when recovering from addiction. There are ways out of hell.

As always, onwards!
xx