New fluorofentanyl detected in California, Valley drug experts preparing for it
As forms of fentanyl get stronger, experts need to know if Narcan will still be effective.
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new form of Fentanyl was responsible for dozens of overdose deaths in San Francisco last year, according to the medical examiner's office.
It's called Fluorofentanyl.
"Anytime you take a structure of any kind of drug, and you alter it just a little bit, you can literally create another drug. That's an analog," said Robert Pennal, a retired special agent with the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
Pennal said there are anywhere from 25 to 30 different analogs of fentanyl.
"Any fentanyl group or analog is scary just because it's so powerful," said Pennal.
Experts do not believe the stronger form of fentanyl is in the Valley yet, but it's hard to say for sure.
"The problem is that medical examiners, their budgets are not allowing for all the different types of fentanyl that are out there," said Flindt Andersen, founder and president of Parents and Addicts In Need (P.A.I.N.).
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He says counties in Central California need to start testing for fluorofentanyl.
As forms of fentanyl get stronger, experts need to know if Narcan will still be effective. For this strain, it is.
But solving the problem goes beyond Narcan.
"Narcan wipes out all the opioid in your system, so what does that do? It throws you into immediate withdrawal symptoms," said Andersen.
That's when the real work to help those in recovery begins, and Andersen says, where there's room for growth.
"Until we change, or at least start to fix and change the treatment industry, we're going to wind up in the same mess, and it's only going to get worse," said Andersen.
You can learn more about the services P.A.I.N. offers, including Narcan distribution, here.
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