CONCERNS have been raised about the dangers of the drug fentanyl for law enforcement officers, search dogs used to find narcotics, and citizens, due to its potency and availability.
Two recent deaths in west Cork have been linked to the substance which is used recreationally as a synthetic substitute for heroin.
Gardaí in Cork have automatically deployed safeguards which both protect personnel from biohazardous material and protect the scene for forensics when searching for the substance.
Although two deaths in West Cork may now be linked to fentanyl, these deaths were geographically separate and are not believed to be linked.
It is thought the fentanyl may have been bought online in isolated incidences for personal consumption.
Fentanyl can be sourced through standard internet searches and can be purchased for €15 -€22 per gram. Its accessibility, lethal potency in small quantities, and relatively low cost present a new challenge for public health and law enforcement.
Previous public warnings issued about dangerous drugs generally concerned bad batches, but this latest drug warning concerns the inherent dangers of the substance itself.
A number of deaths have occurred in the US when people took cocaine which had been cut with fentanyl, and there is a risk that fentanyl may contaminate other drugs, particularly those bought online.
Gardaí have warned that there is no way of guaranteeing that what people buy online is what the vendor says it is.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has urged people to stay away from fentanyls. “The HSE have told us that fentanyls are sold in powder form, probably mixed with heroin, or mixed with caffeine or Paracetamol.” Former UCC student, Annie Hoey, USI president, said: “Therefore the drug can be snorted, injected or swallowed. Whatever way it is used, the drug is extremely dangerous and we are urging students and young people to stay away from this drug because it has been implicated in five deaths so far in Ireland.”
Fentanyl is so potent that Police officers in the US were recently banned from field testing the drug due to the potential dangers to both officers and their search dogs of inhaling the substance.
TFentanyl intoxication affected two police in the US after they field tested the substance, believing it was heroin.
The substance can also be absorbed through the skin raising further fears of accidental intoxication. Fentanyl can now only be tested in a crime laboratory in some US states.
Fentanyls have become such a problem in Canada that organisers of the Shambhala music festival in Canada are distributing leaflets warning about the dangers of fentanyl and they are crowdfunding for a drug testing machine.
For support around drug and alcohol use the HSE Drugs & Alcohol Helpline is available Monday to Friday, 9.30am and 5.30pm. This confidential service has both a freephone Helpline (1800 459 459) and an email support service (helpline@hse.ie).
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