What is Fentanyl?

• Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid drug that is up to 50x's stronger than heroin and 100x's stronger than morphine.
• It is often added to illicit street drugs such as fake pills and white powder.
• Fentanyl and other opioids cause overdose by slowing down a person's breathing and can eventually cause death.
• Fentanyl is most commonly seen in blue, greenish, or pale colored counterfeit pills.  There may be other colors out there as well.  These pills may be marked as "M30" and sometimes as "K9", "215", and "v48".  Fentanyl comes in different forms, including liquid and powders.
• Oxycodone pills that are sold on the street or online are likely to contain Fentanyl.
• You can't smell or taste Fentanyl.  You can't tell if there is Fentanyl in the pills by looking at them.
• It is nearly impossible to tell if drugs have been laced with Fentanyl.
• The amount of Fentanyl can vary between pills, even within the same batch.  Due to the uncertainty, even a single pill could be fatal.

Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths.  Even in small doses, it can be deadly. 

According to the CDC, 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022.  A staggering 67% of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like Fentanyl.  Only 2 milligrams of Fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.

SOURCE: DEA