Synthetic opioid crisis in US serves as warning for the world, says UN

Fentanyl, which is 50-100 times more potent than morphine, was recently tied to the deaths of 60 people in the UK – and a growing number of deaths in Australia

Amanda Holpuch in New York
Friday 18 August 2017 21.16 BST

Efforts to combat the opioid addiction crisis in the US have been weakened by the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which a top UN drug official has warned could infiltrate Europe and Australia in a similar way.

“Other countries with opiate problems should be concerned because fentanyl could quickly be pushed into their supply,” Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, told the Guardian.

Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, was recently tied to the deaths of 60 people in the UK and there have been a growing number of deaths from the drug in Australia, Douglas said.

Fentanyl presents a lucrative business opportunity for drug traffickers because it is incredibly powerful in small amounts and is easy to produce. Since fall 2013, fentanyl has contributed to more than 5,000 overdose deaths in the US – including the musician Prince, whose death in 2016 was caused by “self-administered fentanyl”. From 2009 to 2014, it contributed to at least 655 deaths in Canada.

Fentanyl drove a 73% increase in synthetic opioid deaths in the US from 2014 to 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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