Scientists have been working on a partial solution to the opioid crisis, experimenting with ways to reduce addiction to medically used fentanyl. Some people addicted to it first had the drug in medical facilities for severe pain such as cancer or spinal injuries. Theoretically, people who are exposed to fentanyl, which has fewer addictive properties, would not go on to develop opioid use disorder.

Why Develop a Less Addictive Fentanyl?

“Opioids, including fentanyl, are among the most effective pain-relieving drugs we have, but they also have led to too many accidental deaths, a situation that is simply tragic,” the paper’s author, Susruta Majumdar, Ph.D., explained.

Fentanyl is a highly potent drug, and misuse of the drug can easily cause a deadly overdose. It is not commonly prescribed but does have a very high addiction profile. Some users have said anecdotally that the first time they used it, they were addicted.

Less addictive fentanyl would help curb criminal enterprises involving pill mills and corrupt doctors. Millions of dollars are made in the illegal pill mill industry to the detriment of the patients.

Fentanyl On the Streets Is a Bigger Problem

While preventing addiction in medical settings will help keep people from developing OUD, there is still the problem of fentanyl on the streets. It’s a drug that is 50 to 100 times the strength of morphine. It can produce intense euphoria. It is highly addictive. This may be why small amounts of the drug seem to be tainting the supply of nearly all illegal narcotics.

Pills sold on the streets or via online apps often have traces of fentanyl. Some pills masquerade as Oxycontin or Molly but are highly potent drug. For opioid naïve, the drug can be a death sentence. However, experienced opioid users may switch to it once they have used it.

Opioid Crisis Is Still Unfolding

The fentanyl crisis has continued to cause death, addiction, and crime waves in our country. In 2021, nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses, and 71,000 of those overdoses involved fentanyl. Addiction is stealing lives from teenagers, parents, partners, and grandparents.

Fentanyl addiction is also an increasing challenge among vulnerable populations. In the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, people line the streets, homeless and using drugs. Much of the current addiction in the city has moved from heroin and Oxycontin to potent illicit drugs.

As America continues to fall short in the war against opioid addiction, hundreds of lives across America are lost to overdoses daily.