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Fentanyl has emerged as the primary cause of illicit drug deaths in Canada and the United States, and its trafficking has been cited by U.S. President Donald Trump to justify his threat of steep tariffs on goods from Canada.
But the potent opioid also has a decades long history and is extensively used as a medical pain management tool. Here’s a look at the drug and how it’s used:
— Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to help relieve severe pain.
— Health Canada says fentanyl is 20 to 40 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine.
— Fentanyl was first developed around 1959 by Dr. Paul Janssen and his Belgium-based pharmaceutical company.
— It was introduced in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
— For medical purposes, fentanyl may be prescribed intravenously or as tablets or skin patches.
— In non-medical settings, fentanyl can be injected, smoked, snorted or consumed in tablet form.
— Health Canada says fentanyl is “cheap” to produce as an illicit street drug compared with other opioids.
— It is odourless and tasteless, and in a non-medical setting, Health Canada says a person may not know they are consuming it.
— A very small amount of fentanyl is enough to prove fatal, so the overdose risk is very high.
— The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says the effects of fentanyl on the body include euphoria, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness and nausea, among others.
— A fentanyl overdose may result in stupor, cold and clammy skin, coma, and respiratory failure leading to death.
— Canadian government figures show fentanyl was linked to 79 per cent of all accidental apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January and June 2024, an increase of 39 per cent since 2016, when national surveillance began.
— U.S. customs agents seized 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 9,570 kilograms at the Mexican border.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.
The Canadian Press
