Synthetic opioid crisis in US serves as warning for the world, says UN | US news | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/18/un-synthetic-opioid-crisis-uk-australia-deaths
#Fentanyl [...] is 50 to 100 times more potent than #morphine, [...].
Fentanyl presents a lucrative business opportunity for drug traffickers because it is incredibly powerful in small amounts and is easy to produce.
[...]
One kilogram of fentanyl can result in a batch of more than 666,600 1.5mg pills. Sold at $10 a piece, that’s $6.6m in revenue. Cut the dosage down to 1mg, and the manufacturer could have $10m.
Fentanyl is also cut into heroin to strengthen weak supply – often without the consumer’s knowledge. With heroin and other plant-derived opioids, the manufacturing process begins in an #opium field where plants must be harvested. Because fentanyl is a synthetic, all that is needed to produce it is a lab.
