What you need to know:
Prescription Opioids:
Opioid pain relievers include Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Morphine, Fentanyl, Codeine, Methadone, and Tramadol amongst others. Doctors might prescribe these medications, typically in small amounts, for certain medical conditions or after a serious surgery. Opioids have a high risk for misuse due to their ability to both relieve pain and produce feelings of euphoria. Opioids can be taken in the form of a tablet, capsule or syrup, snorted, or injected.
Heroin:
Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine and can be a white or brown powder or a sticky black substance known as black tar heroin. Heroin can be smoked, injected, snorted, or sniffed.
Fentanyl:
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug and is roughly 100 times more potent than morphine. A doctor might prescribe it if a person has extreme pain. Fentanyl can be given as a shot, taken as a lozenge, or transferred through a skin patch.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug and is roughly 100 times more potent than morphine.
There are many illegal variations of fentanyl that are much stronger than the prescription version and this results in a very small difference between a therapeutic dose and deadly dose. Fentanyl sedates and relieves pain within minutes and the effects typically last 30 to 90 minutes.