Fentanyl - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

The abuse of fentanyl is still relatively rare in the general public, but it is on the rise. In 2000, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported 576 emergency room visits for fentanyl abuse. By 2002 that number had climbed to more than 1,500 cases. The numbers may be deceiving, however. Since it is difficult to test for fentanyl—and since fentanyl deaths resemble heroin deaths—the number of fentanyl fatalities may be higher.

In November of 2004, the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah reported a trend that was occurring in some larger cities. The fentanyl lollipops were being sold illegally on the street. Authorities worked to find out how the legal drugs had fallen into the hands of drug dealers. Law enforcement officers believed that some of the street lollipops were being obtained through fake prescriptions, theft from pharmacies or hospitals, or from dishonest doctors.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that sales of fentanyl lollipops increased from $51 million in 2001 to $237.5 million in 2003. At the beginning of 2003, pharmacies were recording 2,500 prescriptions for the lollipops per month. By the end of the same year, the number of prescriptions had risen to 4,000 per month. Between 1999 and 2004, 44 million units of fentanyl lollipops had been sold in the United States. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that some of those sales were generated by doctors prescribing the medication "off label" for non-cancer pain.

One of the largest groups of fentanyl abusers is in the medical community itself. The Houston Chronicle reported in 2003 that nearly 2 in 100 anesthesiologists have abused fentanyl. Nurses and other health care professionals also use the drug at higher rates than the general public. Part of the reason for this trend is availability. Hospital staff members have easier access to fentanyl than ordinary citizens. Doctors, nurses, and support staff see the pleasant effects fentanyl has on their patients, and some caregivers become tempted to abuse it. In response to this crisis, hospitals and chronic care facilities are taking greater measures to monitor the stocks of fentanyl in its various forms and to assure that patches and other sources of the drug are properly disposed of so they will not be stolen.