Earlier this month, four comedians in Los Angeles were recreationally using cocaine at a house get-together. What they thought was going to be partying soon turned into a nightmare. The drug, laced with fentanyl, caused all of these talented people to overdose. Cocaine, like heroin and other drugs, is now a drug that is increasingly tainted with fentanyl. It leads to deadly results when taken by a non-opioid user.

Why Are Cocaine/Fentanyl Overdoses So Deadly?

Fentanyl is an incredibly potent opioid that causes even experienced opioid users to overdose. It’s one hundred or more times as powerful as morphine. When a person who doesn’t use opioids accidentally takes it, their body has no tolerance. On top of that, it’s usually combined with another drug, such as cocaine. Both drugs can intensify the effects of others.

When responding to an overdose, most EMTs will use Naloxone to reverse an opioid-related overdose. When the overdose involves fentanyl and another drug, it can take several bottles of Naloxone to reverse the overdose. For cocaine overdose, there is no way to reduce or reverse the effects of both drugs together. Reviving a person from an overdose that involves multiple drugs may take CPR or other radical actions. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it’s deadly.

Harm Reduction For Fentanyl and Cocaine

There are harm reduction techniques for regular drug users that can help with using drugs more “safely”; however, there is no such thing as safe cocaine or other narcotic use. Cocaine is a drug that is unpredictable and can damage the heart muscle.

Some nonprofits offer testing strips if you’re worried about fentanyl showing up in your drug of choice. You can also get clean needles and vital information from exchange programs. The best harm reduction, of course, is getting clean and sober. But in reality, people struggle with getting clean, often for some time, before they are able to maintain sobriety.

Harm reduction is centered on helping people stay healthy and alive and reduce the harm caused by their addiction until they are ready to get clean and sober.